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UBRAR OF CONGRESS, 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



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MISSIONARY PAPERS 



BY 



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JOHN C. LOWRIE. 




NEW YORK. 
ROBERT CARTER & BROTHERS 

530 Broadway. 

1881. 



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Copyright, 1881, by 
JOHN C. LOWRIE. 



The Library 
of Congress 



WifcS8ffiH88$g§>g,. 




Edward O. Jenkins' Print, so North William Street, New York. 



ADVERTISEMENT. 



The Papers in this volume have been, in most instances, 
selected from a large number in Missionary Periodicals 
under the author's editorial charge ; but some of them 
have been taken from Reviews, and others have not been 
printed heretofore. A sermon with a slight abridgment 
is included in the series, which was preached in special 
service, with mainly a missionary purpose. These articles 
are meant to be catholic in spirit, while they are written 
from a Presbyterian point of view when questions of 
Church order are concerned ; and it is hoped that they 
may be of use to the cause of Christian Missions. As in 
the case of former books of the writer, his pecuniary 
income, if any, from this work will go to the same cause. 

Otherpapers on missionary subjects, in print or as yet 
unwritten, were included in the idea of this book. These 
relate to practical matters in the field, to the return of 
missionaries, the case of ex-missionaries, the occupation 
and support of aged missionaries, salaries at home and 
abroad, boards or committees, secretaries, missionary 
publications in this country, the support of special objects 
by the churches, the proper place of English in connection 
with the vernacular languages in the missions, the relative 
claims of different nations on a Missionary Board, etc. ; 
but the limits assigned to this volume do not admit of 
their being considered in its pages. 

Mission House, 23 Centre Street, 
New York, May, 1881. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

I. Thoughts on Missions 7 

II. The Highest Motive 10 

III. The Lord's Supper — The Gospel for all 

Nations n 

IV. Missionary Policy and Zeal 13 

V. Small Beginnings — Large Growth 18 

VI. " Not with Observation." 22 

VII. The Call of a Missionary 25 

VIII. The Impress of Heathenism — Yet the 

Heathen not Hopeless 28 

IX. The Worth of a Soul in America and 

China 32 

X. Prayer and Corresponding Means 33 

XI. A Heathen Temple in China 35 

XII. Is Missionary Life Favorable to Piety ?. . . 38 

XIII. The Great Want of a Missionary 44 

XIV. The Gifts of the Rich 46 

XV. Large Gifts 49 

XVI. The Gifts of the Poor 50 

XVII. Disinterestedness 51 

XVIII. The Privilege of Large and Varied Work 

for Christ 53 

XIX. The Holy Ghost the Power of Chris- 
tian Witnesses 55 



4 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

XX. Fundamental Principles not to be Over- 
looked 82 

XXI. Romans xv. 20 84 

XXII. Proverbs xi. 24 87 

XXIII. The Denominational Element in Mis- 

sions 89 

XXIV. Reasons of " Church " Work in Mis- 

sions 95 

XXV. "Monthly Concert "Meeting of Prayer. 99 

XXVI. Grace, not Race, in Christian Missions. 102 

XXVII. Less Favored Races 104 

XXVIII. The Pecuniary Support of Missions... 106 

XXIX. " Our Country for the World " 109 

XXX. The World for Our Country in 

XXXI. Thirty Meeting-Houses 116 

XXXII. On "Slowing" the Work of Foreign 

Missions 118 

XXXIII. " Mere Preachers and Teachers " 124 

XXXIV. Learning the Native Language Indis- 

pensable to Missionaries 127 

XXXV. Where to Learn a Language 130 

XXXVI. Translating the Scriptures 134 

XXXVII. Missionaries Translating the Scrip- 
tures 137 

XXXVIII. On Transferring " Baptizo " 139 

XXXIX. A.D. 1832-1872 141 

XL. The Mohammedans 146 

XLI. Organized Opposing Forces 148 

XLII. Church Work for Roman Catholics 150 

XLIII. A Romanist Missionary Society 153 

XLIV. Life of Francis Xavier 157 



CONTENTS. 5 

PAGE 

XLV. The Hindus and the British 162 

XLVI. The First Donation in India to the 

Lodiana Mission 168 

XLVII. A Parsee Cemetery 171 

XLVIII. Africa Inland — Protectorate of the 

Congo 173 

XLIX. Missions to the Chinese in this Country. 176 

L. Sabbath-school Work for the Chinese. 181 

LI. Our Indian Affairs 182 

LII. Indian Boarding-schools 198 

LIII. Work of an Indian Teacher 201 

LIV. Boarding-schools and Orphanages 203 

LV. Native Ministers 206 

LVI. Native Candidates for the Ministry. . 209 

LVII. Administrative Work of Missions 213 

LVIII. Estimates— Local Funds 231 

LIX. Supervision of Foreign Missions 233 

LX. Missionary Superintendents 252 

LXI. Training and Distribution of Mission- 

aeies 256 

LXII. Missionary Professorships 278 

LXIII. Children of Missionaries. 280 

LXIV. Princeton Seminary and Missions 310 

LXV. Alleghany Seminary and Missions 328 

LXVI. Missionary Presbyteries 345 

LXVII. Missionary Presbyteries and the Home 

Church 359 

LXVIII. " Foreign Missions " : their Relations 

and Claims 366 

LXIX. What Presbyteries can do 371 

LXX. Endorsement of Objects 373 



6 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

LXXI. Can a Missionary Board keep out of 

Debt ? 376 

LXXII. The Discipline .of a Narrow Income... 378 
LXXIII. The Time required for the Conversion 

of the World 380 

LXXIV. Offices of the Board 380 

LXXV. Length of Missionary Life 384 

LXXVI. Missionary Deputations 387 

LXXVII. Recall of a Missionary. 391 

LXXVIII. " Mission " or Presbytery 394 

LXXIX. Henry Martyn 399 

LXXX. C. A. Jacobi 402 

LXXXI. J. P. Revel 408 

LXXXII. Service for Life 409 

LXXXIII. Gifts and Departure of Friends 411 

LXXXIV. William W. Phillips, James Lenox, and 

Walter Lowrie 412 

LXXXV. William Adams 417 

Index 421 



MISSIONARY PAPERS 



i. 

THOUGHTS ON MISSIONS. 

I. GOD, the adorable Trinity : in Eternity. 
II. Creation, " in the beginning " of Time. 

III. The world, in sin and death. 

IV. Christ predicted ; Christ born ; Christ teach- 
ing; Christ dying; Christ rising and returning to 
heaven. 

V. The Holy Ghost manifested. 
VI. The Gospel preached. 
VII. Some believe, are saved, are gathered into 
churches, are employed to save others. 

VIII. They do this commonly in united efforts, so 
far as those living in distant countries are concerned. 
IX. The number of Christians increases ; they be- 
come classified in denominations ; each leading de- 
nomination supports some of its own members as 
missionaries. All the members pray for their success ; 
all make gifts according to their ability ; all wish to 

(7) 



8 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

be well informed concerning the work of missions, and 
read with interest missionary information ; all act 
under a common consecration to God and to His 
cause in the world. Their children are trained for 
the same high ends. 

X. The missionaries go to their fields of labor from 
love to Christ and compassion for lost souls, not to 
enjoy comfort or honor ; they learn the language of 
the people, live among them and as near to them as 
possible, and devote themselves in every good way to 
the object of making Christ known as the only Sav- 
iour of sinners. They preach, teach, talk, use the 
press, pray, watch, and long by all lawful means to 
save souls. 

XL God gives them success. Converts are bap- 
tized, churches are formed, presbyteries are consti- 
tuted ; native candidates for the ministry are prayed 
for, sought, found, brought forward, trained, licensed 
to preach, ordained as pastors or ministers at large. 

XII. The work of missions passes into the hands 
of native laborers in each country ; fewer foreign mis- 
sionaries are needed ; the Gospel spreads like leaven, 
grows like the grain of mustard seed ; heathenism and 
all false religions wane and disappear; their soul- 
destroying author is bound in chains ; the church of 
Christ embraces Jews and Gentiles, even all nations. 

XIII. The foreign missionary work is ended ; right- 
eousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost every- 
where reign ; the Millennium is come ; for a thousand 
years — years of prophetic time, a day for a year, that 
is, for 360,000 of our years — the earth is filled with 



THOUGHTS ON MISSIONS. 9 

beautiful churches, Christian homes, happy inhabit- 
ants, countless in number. The six thousand early 
years of sin, ignorance, war, and death are not forgot- 
ten, but their desolation is seen to have fallen on 
comparatively but few of the children of men. The 
vastly greater number are saved. Glory to God in 
the highest ; peace on earth ; good will to men ; Beth- 
lehem, Gethsemane, Calvary, the mount of Olives — 
such are themes inspiring through this long tract of 
time universal praise to God and thanks for the Gos- 
pel. The transition from earth to heaven, no longer 
dreaded as death, is welcomed as the translation of 
Enoch or Elijah, or in some humble degree as the 
ascension of the risen Redeemer. 

XIV. A deeply troubled time follows, for reasons 
to us incomprehensible; Satan is unbound, and is 
permitted to have great power on the earth. 

XV. But his time is short; the conflict is over; 
the great adversary is forever in prison. 

XVI. Christ appears personally, in glory, accom- 
panied by hosts of angels and of the redeemed. The 
judgment of all both small and great is declared. 
Hell remains for the wicked. Heaven remains for 
the righteous. Christ is forever glorified. His peo- 
ple are forever blessed. God is all in all. Eternity 
is full of praise. Amen. 



10 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

II. 
THE HIGHEST MOTIVE. 

In our missionary work we can see that general 
knowledge, commercial interests, humanitarian ad- 
vantages, and even national honor may all receive 
benefit from our labors. It would not be wrong for 
a religious man to keep in view these things as mo- 
tives of action. Nor would it be wrong to feel a 
special interest in the conversion of our countrymen, 
or the Indians, or the Mexicans and the South Amer- 
icans, because they are so near us ; or of the Japan- 
ese, because they are so polite a people in their 
manners, and so progressive; or of the Chinese, be- 
cause they are so stable in character and show such 
reverence for their parents and for the aged. 

But when we consider the motives chiefly, almost 
solely, presented in the Gospel, we see at once that 
they are spiritual. Our blessed Lord was of Hebrew 
race and usage as to his human nature. The Apostle 
Paul was a Hebrew of the Hebrews. As we study 
their lives and labors, we see little that is purely na- 
tional among the motives of their action, nothing 
that is commercial, hardly anything that is humani- 
tarian — so-called, and of course nothing that savors 
of pride and caste. Even when the Apostle spoke 
those words of dread meaning in the ninth of Ro- 
mans, it was because of the spiritual necessities Of the 
Hebrews, and not because they were the most influ- 
ential or the most eminent race in the world. Nor 



THE HIGHEST MOTIVE. u 

do we ever find motives presented which are drawn 
from the greatness of the Roman people, or the learn- 
ing and philosophy of the Greeks ; nor from the prob- 
able future destiny of any of the nations, unless it 
were that as made up of individuals they were all of 
them, at that very day, in danger of eternal death, 
and they had then and there the offer of mercy 
through Christ Jesus. But we do see the love of 
Christ constraining his disciples to obey his com- 
mandments, to imitate his example, to seek his glory 
in the salvation of men in every land, of every con- 
dition, even the worst in character, the most hopeless 
in circumstances. It is for thee, my Saviour ! 



III. 



THE LORD'S SUPPER— THE GOSPEL FOR ALL 
NATIONS. 

BEFORE his death our Lord enjoined on his dis- 
ciples the observance of the Sacrament of the Sup- 
per; then, it was his last requirement and request. 
Before his ascension he enjoined on them the 
preaching of the Gospel to every creature, literally 
his last commandment and promise. We should con- 
nect these sacred duties together in our thoughts of 
our Saviour's last days on earth. Both refer to him- 
self, his object in coming into the world, his con- 
tinued presence with his people, his gracious work 



12 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

for them and in them, his work assigned to them. 
Both point to his grace for the fulfilment of our duty 
to him and to our fellow-men. Both lead us to look 
for communion with him, now and forever, and each 
takes the form of a commandment. 

Nearly all Christian people, such as hope that they 
are the true disciples of Christ, recognize and try to 
fulfil the duty of commemorating his death. Few 
of them now, as we trust, refuse to recognize the duty 
of preaching the Gospel ; though too many, as we 
fear, still overlook the extent of this duty, as includ- 
ing every creature, in all the world. 

We aim here at no "exposition" of these things, 
but desire to recall them to the attention of our read- 
ers, and to add a few brief remarks. 

1. As it is our Lord Jesus Christ in both the com- 
mandments that we see first, so in keeping them we 
must chiefly seek to please him. Our highest mo- 
tives are found in love and obedience to him. 

2. No more may we neglect one than the other of 
these commandments ; no more leave the duty of 
missions unfulfilled than that of commemorating our 
Saviour's suffering and death. 

3. Ministers of churches are the appointed servants 
of Christ in leading his people to intelligent and 
faithful obedience to these commandments. 

4. The service in both cases is spiritual, and should 
be marked with scriptural simplicity, and with the 
steady, systematic fulfilment of duty, even unto the 
end of life. How is the Sacrament overlaid and neu- 
tralized in the Roman Catholic way of its administra- 



MISSIONARY POLICY AND ZEAL. 13 

tion ! May there not also be too much of the sensa- 
tional, popularizing, transient, and superficial, in meth- 
ods sometimes adopted in our churches for the cause of 
missions, as well as in plans pursued in the work it- 
self? We need wisdom from on high. 

5. The reward of faithful communion service, and 
of faithful efforts to make the Gospel known to all 
men, is a sure and blessed one — even the approval of 
our Lord and Saviour. 



IV. 

MISSIONARY POLICY AND ZEAL. 

The cause of missions, like all great enterprises, 
rests on a few simple and broad truths — the com- 
mand of God, the spirit of true religion, the perishing 
condition of the heathen, and other considerations of 
similar weight and force. These are plainly pre- 
sented in Sacred Scripture. 

The missionary work, however, both in its support 
by the Church, and in its progress among the heathen, 
presents many practical questions which are not an- 
swered by direct revelation. No chapter and verse 
can be cited to prove that Canton and Yedo should 
be missionary stations, rather than Ayuthia and To- 
cat ; neither can it be thus decided that the mission- 
ary at any given place shall present the Gospel mes- 
sage in a certain form ; as, for example, by public dis- 



H MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

courses rather than at times by a private conversa- 
tion. We can not quote chapter and verse to decide 
who shall go as missionaries, nor how their pecuniary- 
support shall be provided and remitted. These things, 
and many others, are not expressly revealed in Sa- 
cred Scripture. The Bible is proved to be a divine 
book, amongst other arguments, by its containing 
principles rather than specific rules — principles of 
easy and universal application. Its positive duties 
are of like character. The Koran enjoins ablutions 
on the followers of the false prophet as a part of their 
religion, ablutions which the Arab of the desert or 
the Laplander in the midst of perpetual ice, is phys- 
ically unable to perform. The Jew would require 
every worshipper, even every convert from the Gen- 
tiles, to repair once a year to the holy city; the 
Christian would do good unto all men as he has op- 
portunity, and neither in the mountain of Samaria, 
nor yet in Jerusalem, would he require men to wor- 
ship God, provided they worship Him in spirit and in 
truth. 

We do not think these practical questions unim- 
portant. Nothing is unimportant that relates to the 
salvation of men. And no methods of proceeding in 
the missionary work should be adopted, which do not 
secure, as far as the wisdom of man can secure, the 
purity of the Gospel message, and the scriptural char- 
acter of the means employed, as this message and 
these means are practically exhibited among the hea- 
then. Hence we are decidedly in favor of commit- 
ting the conduct of this work to our ecclesiastical 



MISSIONARY POLICY AND ZEAL. 15 

assemblies, in whose supervision we have so much 
confidence as to entrust them with our own interests ; 
and hence also we are in favor of having the work of 
missions conducted separately by each body of Chris- 
tians. In a word, we would give to the heathen the 
same Gospel which we hold ourselves ; and we would 
give them the Gospel, if we are able, with our own 
hands, in order to avoid any possible embarrassment 
from conflicting views of church-order or divine truth. 
We believe that we shall best secure the purity of the 
Gospel message and the scriptural character of the 
means employed, by adhering to this policy ; at the 
same time we cordially rejoice in the missionary zeal 
of other bodies of Christians, and we bid them God- 
speed, in so far as they preach Christ and him cru- 
cified. 

This, then, is our position. We hold that the duty 
of missions is divinely and most clearly revealed, and 
that the practical measures, by which this duty is per- 
formed may be, and in ordinary times ought to be, 
determined by the judicatories of the Church. These 
judicatories will always embrace many of the most 
able and experienced men in our communion, and 
their measures will always be governed in the long 
run by the public sentiment of the Church — a public 
sentiment which every church member contributes to 
form and has the power to influence. We thus com- 
bine conservative and popular principles ; the volun- 
tary power of numbers with the safer action of the 
few, who are yet responsible, while they are clothed 
with a wholesome authority. Measures, therefore, 



16 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

which, not being expressly revealed, are left to the 
wisdom and judgment of the Church, may be safely 
committed to the supervision of our church courts. 
This is true of missions, as of other things. And the 
missionary policy which secures their approval, after 
due consideration and trial, will commend itself to the 
approbation and the support of the members at large. 
We are not disposed, therefore, to make very much 
of the objections, which are sometimes urged against 
particular points of the method in which our Church 
is conducting the work of Foreign Missions. If there 
are real difficulties or errors connected with our mis- 
sionary policy, they will be gradually developed ; and 
in such a work it is the duty, and would doubtless be 
the pleasure of all parties to have them speedily cor- 
rected. Some men object to everything which is 
not their own ; they are simply unreasonable and 
"impracticable," and must, if possible, be let alone. 
Others object from want of information ; they must 
be enlightened. Others object in order to excuse 
themselves from performing duties which they do not 
like to perform ; they are a discouraging class. 

On what does the work of Foreign Missions hinge 
in our Church ? We answer, not mainly on questions 
of missionary policy ; we are, for the most part, agreed 
about them. But the turning point of the whole en- 
terprise is this, that the hearts of the people become 
interested in the work. And how shall this result be 
obtained ? By dwelling chiefly, we do not say exclu- 
sively, but chiefly, on the great truths on which the 
whole work is founded. Each follower of Christ must 



MISSIONARY POLICY AND ZEAL. 17 

feel — " I am commanded by my Lord, by my Re- 
deemer, to give his Gospel to my fellow-men ; I am 
commanded to do this. And if I have the spirit of 
the Gospel, I will do unto others as I would have 
them do unto me — have I then the spirit of Christ in 
this matter? Those poor heathens are dying; can I 
help to save them? I shall meet them at the judg- 
ment-seat of Christ; will my conscience, will my 
Judge, then be satisfied with what I am now doing 
for their salvation ? Their eternity will be as long as 
mine ; their souls are worth as much as mine ; their 
time here is as short as mine ; their song of praise to 
redeeming grace would sound as sweetly as mine ; 
what, then, am I doing to put them in possession of 
the blessed hopes which I enjoy myself? All that I 
have has been received from God through the blood 
of Christ. I am not my own. Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do ? " These, and such like, are the 
thoughts and feelings which should fill the hearts of 
all Christians. Now what are the considerations which 
will call these feelings into life, and invigorate them ? 
There is but one answer, and that is found in the 
plain truths of God's word, and the outpouring of 
the influences of the Holy Ghost. 



1 8 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 



V. 



SMALL BEGINNINGS— LARGE GROWTH. 

Matthew xiii. 31. — Another parable put he forth unto them, 
saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, 
which a man took and sowed in his field : 32. — Which indeed is 
the least of all seeds : but when it is grown, it is the greatest among 
herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and 
lodge in the branches thereof. 

33. — Another parable spake he unto them ; The kingdom of 
heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three 
measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. 

The object of both these parables is the same — to 
describe the diffusive and expansive nature of relig- 
ion ; and they are characteristic both of the progress 
of divine grace in the soul of man, and of the spread 
of the Gospel in the world at large. 

The idea is that from small beginnings, religion be- 
comes a powerful and controlling principle. 

See the grain of mustard seed. It is a little thing. 
Put it in the ground, and it seems to be lost. Yet it 
has a principle of life in it. In due time it shoots 
forth, grows up, and becomes a tree — not a mere 
plant, as in our cold climate, but a tree in some re- 
gions so large that the birds lodge in its branches. 

See the small portion of leaven — placed in a large 
quantity of meal — diffusing itself silently, but giving 
its own peculiar flavor to the whole mass. 

Thus when the grace of God is communicated to 
the soul of man, it may appear a small thing at first. 
Perhaps the chief signs of its existence shall be the 



SMALL BEGINNINGS— LARGE GROWTH. 19 

faint desire after instruction, after something not yet 
learned ; or the feeble conviction of sins that need 
pardon ; or the half-formed purpose of forsaking evil 
con-duct and evil company. 

Afterward, these desires, convictions, and half- 
formed resolutions, appear to be extinguished. 

But presently they revive, and gather new strength. 
More grace is given — stronger desires are felt, even 
earnest wishes to enjoy the peace and blessedness of 
the Gospel. 

And at length the whole character is changed, and 
has a savor of spiritual things. Many readers of this 
paper can bear witness to this gradually transforming 
power of religion in their hearts ; and while their own 
remembrance of the day of small things should rebuke 
any risings of impatience with their weaker or youn- 
ger brethren, it should also encourage them to ex- 
pect for themselves and others the complete fulfil- 
ment of these beautiful parables. 

But these parables may be considered chiefly with 
reference to the spread of religion in the world. The 
kingdom of God means not only the grace of God, 
but also the dispensation of the Gospel. 

Now we are taught by these parables to expect the 
general spread of the Gospel from small beginnings. 
It has always been so. The appearance of our blessed 
Lord himself, that of a poor man, unattended with 
external power and state ; and that of his disciples, 
humble fishermen, must have been exceedingly insig- 
nificant in the eyes of the learned and honored and 
proud Pharisees and Sadducees. And yet who knows 



20 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

now the names of those great men among the Jews, 
or cares to know them ? While the names of Christ, 
and Peter, and John, and the other Apostles, are fa- 
miliar words in every language throughout the world. 
And what could have been more perfectly simple 
than the teaching of Jesus? See him sitting on the 
mountain-side, opening his lips, and saying to the 
crowds at his feet, " Blessed are the poor in spirit, for 
theirs is the kingdom of heaven." These words are 
words of life even now, springing up in the hearts of 
thousands in many lands, full of instruction, full of 
consolation. 

Nor can we point to any remarkable era in the 
spread of the Gospel, without seeing that often little 
things, apparently too trivial for the notice of ob- 
servers, exert a vast influence in shaping the progress 
of the kingdom of God. Luther discovers an old 
copy of the Sacred Scriptures amongst the dusty vol- 
umes of a neglected library. It was indeed a little 
seed, and yet behold how great the tree which has 
sprung up from it, whose leaves are for the healing of 
the nations. 

So it is at the present day. The missionary takes 
up his abode among a heathen people ; he applies 
himself to learn their language, and to conciliate their 
confidence. Presently he speaks to them with a stam- 
mering tongue, and his words seem to them as idle 
words — without meaning ; or if they perceive their 
meaning, they dislike it, they refuse to accept it, they 
become violently opposed to it. Yet those words shall 
be like leaven, silently making progress in the hearts 



SMALL BEGINNINGS -LARGE GROWTH. 21 

of men ; and like the grain of mustard seed, springing 
up in vigor and beauty, a tree of life. Thus it is in 
many places ; among the degraded tribes of South 
Africa, in the islands of the sea. Thus it shall be 
everywhere. . Even in the old and systematized forms 
of Hindu and Chinese society, the mighty influence 
of religion shall spread itself throughout the mass of 
their numerous millions of inhabitants. 

We are to expect all this, because God has declared 
it. His truth is the seed, which shall spring up and 
bring forth the fruits of eternal life. It is of this 
divine truth that God. hath declared — " For as the 
rain cometh down and the snow from heaven, and re- 
turneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and 
maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed 
to the sower and bread to the eater ; so shall my 
word be that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall 
not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that 
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing 
whereto I sent it." 

Let us not fail to consider, then, our responsibility. 
We have the seed of life in our hands, not for our- 
selves alone, but to plant and sow for others. Our 
missionary brethren are now employed in this good 
work. We should endeavor to strengthen their 
hands. We should greatly add to their number. We 
should, especially, seek, with earnest prayer, the bless- 
ing of God to rest upon their labors. God only can 
give the increase, but he will give that increase in 
answer to the prayers of his people. 

Consider, also, our encouragement to go forward in 



22 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

the work of missions. We have the sure word of 
God, confirmed by all past experience, and based on 
the very nature of religion, for expecting success. 
That success may be gradual, but it shall not be the 
less certain. One becomes a convert, and imme- 
diately exerts an influence on others, and they again 
on others, and thus a widening circle is formed, which 
shall at length include whole nations in its bounda- 
ries. 

We must not, therefore, despise the day of small 
things. If we see not immediate results we may hope 
for them hereafter. It may be ours to place the 
leaven in the midst of the meal — to plant the mustard 
seed ; and if we see not the tree with its wide-spread- 
ing branches, we may be assured that others shall. 
This is our encouragement. 



VI. 

"NOT WITH OBSERVATION." 

A TRAVELLER, who had visited missionary stations 
in different countries, and who was in sympathy with 
the missionaries, expressed himself afterward as 
struck with the small visible fruits of their labors. He 
was delighted with a great printing establishment at 
one station, a large hospital at another, a splendid 
school for girls at still another, all under the best 
Christian influence, and all so prominent that he could 



" NO T WITH OBSER VA TIONP 23 

not doubt their usefulness. Neither did he doubt the 
usefulness of other kinds of missionary work, but re- 
gretted that it looked so small. 

Certainly much of missionary work looks small, and 
is small relatively. What multitudes of heathen peo- 
ple there are in China, India, and other countries, 
and how few the laborers ! A province of nearly 
30,000,000 in the north of China has twelve or fifteen 
ministers of the Gospel from all the Christian denom- 
inations. Other provinces, still fewer ; others, none 
at all. A traveller visiting one of these provinces 
could hardly expect to see a large array of missionary 
labor ; still less, to see much fruit if the laborers had 
but lately entered the field. 

But probably the discouragement was in the trav- 
eller himself. He may have made too much of ob- 
jective evidence, and too little of faith. Our work is 
one of faith. Our faith uses means, and expects suc- 
cess ; but it respects God's sovereignty, in providence 
and grace, both for the time and the manner of the 
blessing. It does not relax its labor nor its hope ; it 
follows Jesus, its author and its finisher, into the des- 
titute harvest fields of the world, and his promise 
that he will draw all men unto him is ample warrant 
for patient, steady perseverance. Feeble, unobserved 
works of love for his name will surely be crowned 
with success, visible to all worlds. 

We shall do well to remember that while a passing 
traveller may see small results of much labor, a closer 
observer may see vast movements, mightier than the 
tides of the ocean. Dr. Morrison's years of unob- 



24 xWISSIONAR Y PA PERS. 

served study preceded all missionary printing in 
China. In Siam for many years all was apparently 
hopeless ; now the grain of mustard seed is growing 
up into a tree of many branches. Thousands of Te- 
loogoos have within the last year been received as 
members of the American Baptist and the English 
Episcopal mission churches ; but these are the fruits 
of many long years of unobserved labor, and of labor 
at first apparently fruitless. We remember that "the 
kingdom of God cometh not with observation " ; but 
then it cometh, and our labor is not in vain in the 
Lord. 

We may well stand in doubt of many " great " 
things, " first-class " efforts, " brilliant " talents, " splen- 
did " buildings, " grand show," in anything pertaining 
to the spread of the Gospel. Not that God may not 
use the greatest gifts in this work, — the Apostle Paul 
was a missionary ; but our greatness should be in hu- 
mility, love for souls, love especially for our blessed 
Saviour, and faithfulness in his service. Its field is in 
things spiritual, not in material objects. Its objective 
type is the grain of mustard seed. Its reward is the 
" well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into 
the joy of thy Lord " — words spoken by the Lord 
himself. 



THE CALL OF A MISSIONARY. 25 

VII. 

THE CALL OF A MISSIONARY. 

We need not be careful to distinguish between the 
call to be a minister and the call to be a missionary. 
The former includes a larger number of persons ; but 
the latter requires much the same qualifications, is 
governed by the same motives, and is directed to the 
same ends. In either case such a call should be : 

1st. From God, by his word, his providence, and 
his Spirit. 

2d. It will then be heard in the soul of him to 
whom it is addressed. His personal convictions of 
duty, and his desire of the work, — this inner experi- 
ence, is essential, and ordinarily it precedes any action. 
This inner experience implies a personal consecration 
to the service of God, leading him to ask, " Lord, 
what wilt thou have me to do ? " This consecration is so 
unqualified that it is ready to say with heartfelt de- 
votion, " Here am I, send me." It is not, however, a 
blind experience. It is founded in grace. It is con- 
firmed by the study of one's natural and acquired 
gifts and providential circumstances, those especially 
which relate to one's engaging in actual missionary 
life and work. It was this inner experience, coupled 
with the study of Providence, that led most mission- 
aries to ask for appointment, or to signify their will- 
ingness to be appointed to the work abroad. The 
recent statement that the late Dr. Duff was first called 
by a Missionary Committee is erroneous. His memoir 



26 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

shows that his purpose of entering on missionary life 
preceded his appointment ; it was a purpose well 
known to his family and friends. 

3d. Under the prompting of this inward call, a man 
might well go forth as a missionary without waiting 
for a commission from a missionary board ; some, in- 
deed, have done so. But if his convictions of useful- 
ness lead him, as they should, to desire co-operation 
with other missionaries in organized relations, and if 
he require funds for his support from other follow- 
ers of Christ, the necessity arises of his call being veri- 
fied, — of his Christian brethren being satisfied that he 
is not acting from mere impulse and ignorance, but 
that he has indeed been called of God to this work. 
Otherwise they may spend their gifts in vain, and 
even do more harm than good. How they are to be 
satisfied in any given case is a question variously an- 
swered. In churches of the Presbyterian order, the 
final decision of this question is entrusted to the 
Presbytery. Preliminary to its action the instruction 
and counsel of parents and pastors, the opinions of 
seminary professors, medical men, and classmates, the 
information of missionary secretaries may all be con- 
sidered, and may go far to justify the Board in ap- 
pointing him, subject to the approval of Presbytery. 
The general method thus indicated has been followed 
for a long time. It rests on the single idea of choos- 
ing for missionaries only men whom God has chosen 
— " picked men," first picked by God. It has respect 
first to a man's personal convictions of his call ; next, 
to satisfactory recommendations ; and then to the 



THE CALL OF A MISSIONAR Y. 27 

official approval of the Church by its authorized Pres- 
bytery. The practical results of this line of proced- 
ure have certainly been good. The missionaries of 
the Board have fairly represented the ministry of the 
Church. Among them have been some of the fore- 
most men in their seminary classes, indeed some of 
the ablest men in our ministry ; and others, if not so 
eminent in talents and scholarship, yet not less useful 
in fields to which they were adapted, and not less 
held in honor by their Christian brethren — men for 
whose character, attainments, life, and labors the 
Church may well be grateful. 

•4th. It must be conceded that brethren sometimes 
shrink from applying for a commission to enter on 
missionary life, though they would willingly go if an 
appointment were offered to them. This hesitation 
may be partly owing to self-distrust, and partly in 
some cases to the fear of not being appointed ; still 
more frequently it may be owing to tfrieir not distin- 
guishing between two things that differ — the call and 
the commission. But no embarrassment need result, 
it may be believed, if a willingness to enter on mis- 
sionary life and work were properly made known, by 
those whose conviction of duty did not prompt them 
to make a request for appointment. 

5th. The plan of placing the whole responsibility of 
the call and appointment on the missionary Board 
would be a very grave mistake. 1st. This plan transfers 
the study of duty from the man himself to the Board, 
which is contrary to both grace and Providence. 2d. 
It leaves men to wait until some Board offers them a 



28 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

commission, and thus lessens the number of mission- 
aries. 3d. How is the Board to find the right men ? 
The members of the Board cannot themselves ascer- 
tain the required information. The missionary sec- 
retaries may equally fail to learn all that should be 
known ; indeed, in how many cases would they learn 
nothing at all ? Even the theological professors may 
be imperfectly acquainted with many things that 
ought to be considered. How, then, is intelligent 
action to be taken ? 4th. It underrates the inner ex- 
perience, and overrates external conditions. 5th. It 
is not favored by past history. The plan of offering 
men commissions, without the "written document," 
indeed, but also without reference to their personal 
views of duty, has been repeatedly tested, and in each 
case without success. 



VIII. 

THE IMPRESS OF HEATHENISM— YET THE HEA- 
THEN NOT HOPELESS. 

It is but little that mere arithmetical figures effect 
toward showing the condition of the world in a moral 
point of view. The conceptions which we form of 
very large numbers are vague and general ; we can 
more readily form definite and heart-affecting views 
of the wants of two or three scores of our fellow-men, 
than of two or three hundred millions. Our imper- 
fect apprehensions, however, should not be allowed to 



THE IMPRESS OF HEA THENISM. 29 

withdraw our minds from the affecting case of the hea- 
then. Those numerous tribes and nations, which are 
still destitute of the means of grace, are composed of 
separate families ; the myriads of their inhabitants 
are made up of individuals ; each heathen man, and 
woman, and child, is of the same parentage with our- 
selves, of like never-ending existence, of not less 
urgent wants, of not less exalted capacities ; concern- 
ing each one of all those multitudes, the great ques- 
tion must be asked, " What is a man profited, if he 
shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?'* 
The heathen are individuals, personally responsible 
to God for their character and their conduct. 

They are fallen, depraved, guilty. Dense clouds of 
ignorance have settled down on their minds. The 
strongest prejudices and the direst superstition fill 
and desolate their hearts. Hosts of bigoted priests 
and the unbroken despotism of heathen rulers chain 
them down in the worst bondage — that of the soul. 
Their domestic relations, their social intercourse, their 
business transactions, all bear the impress of heathen- 
ism. Their times of sorrow and their hour of disso- 
lution are full of darkness. The future world is either 
unknown by them, or greatly feared. They are not 
prepared for heaven ; they can not look forward with 
peace and hope to the enjoyment of God's favor 
throughout unceasing ages. Should we not feel deep- 
ly concerned for their lamentable condition ? Should 
we not charge upon ourselves the duty of earnestly 
caring for these wretched people, of showing toward 
them the same compassion which we trust our Sav- 



30 M I SSI ON A R Y PA PERS. 

iour has shown toward ourselves, of using for them 
the same means by which our minds have become 
enlightened in the knowledge of the true God and 
eternal life ? 

The numbers of the heathen are so great, their 
moral blindness and degradation so extreme, the dif- 
ficulties which hinder their conversion so apparently 
insuperable, that some may be in danger of doubting 
the success of all missionary efforts ; indeed there are 
those who consider the missionary work a hopeless 
undertaking — who ask, what can the feeble efforts of 
Christians avail in such a cause ? 

We have a short answer to these doubts. The 
work is God's. Therefore, it is not hopeless. He 
works by means — by our efforts, by our prayers. 
Therefore we have much to do ; our agency is indis- 
pensable, because God has appointed it. 

Far from being hopeless, this great work is now in 
the course of successful accomplishment. Many lights 
have been kindled in the dark places of the earth. 
Much leaven of the Gospel has been spread among 
the nations. Many trees of righteousness have been 
planted in desert lands ; much fruit has already been 
gathered. Redeemed souls are now with Christ, 
through God's blessing on missionary labors, and 
others are on their way to that better world, whom 
we shall hope to meet before long, and to unite with 
them in the songs of praise to him that hath' washed 
us in his own blood, and made us kings and priests 
unto God. Enough has already been done to repay, 
and far more than repay, the Church for all the la- 



THE IMPRESS OF HE A THENISM. 31 

bors and sacrifices that have been bestowed on the 
work of Christian missions. 

Now, the success of the past is one of our encour- 
agements as to the- future. Past success is an earnest 
or pledge of what " the Captain of Salvation " will 
hereafter perform. And we may hope for the much 
more widely extended and the far more rapid spread 
of the Gospel in time to come. Many heathen lan- 
guages have been acquired ; the Sacred Scriptures 
have been translated into many tongues ; hundreds 
of churches have been formed ; thousands of youth 
are under religious instruction ; and native ministers 
of the Gospel are now preaching the unsearchable 
riches of Christ to their countrymen. All this is most 
animating, even if it must be regarded as only the 
day of small things. All this is most encouraging, 
not because it proves the work nearly done, but be- 
cause it shows the work begun, and shows also, what 
is chiefly to be regarded, that the blessing of God has 
been granted to these missionary efforts. That bless- 
ing, without which all our labors would be in vain, 
shall not be withheld in future. The light of the 
Gospel shall rise higher up in the regions of heathen- 
ism, and spread far abroad over the land, and pervade 
every pagan temple, and shine into every dark mind 
of man, and " the earth shall be full of the knowledge 
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Such is 
our faith and our hope. 



32 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

IX. 
THE WORTH OF A SOUL IN AMERICA AND CHINA. 

Many of our readers have probably preached ser- 
mons on the worth of the soul. Its faculties, its capac- 
ity of progress, its never-ending existence, the great 
object of its life, have been specified, and especially 
the price paid for its redemption. All of these con- 
siderations apply equally to the soul of a Chinaman 
and the soul of an American. 

Granted that providential circumstances, of birth, 
wealth, etc., may make some difference ; yet, not 
much. The joy of the angels over a repenting sinner 
does not much depend on his being an American or 
a Chinaman. Granted also that talent and education 
may enable one man to be more influential than an- 
other; yet many of the Chinese are men of great 
talent ; the American Minister, when the Ministers of 
Great Britain, France, the United States, and China, 
met some years ago at Canton to form a treaty, con- 
sidered the Chinese ambassador as one of the ablest 
men of the convention. A vast influence may be 
wielded by a converted Chinaman. One light shining 
in a dark place may be more conspicuous than a score 
of lights in a room already well supplied with can- 
dles. But we take little interest in these comparisons. 
Our Saviour did not make them when he gave his 
last commandment to his disciples ; and his grace can 
lift up the down-trodden and the degraded to the 
level of the highest and best amongst us. What has 



PRAYER AND CORRESPONDING MEANS. 33 

not this grace accomplished for many souls in Chris- 
tian lands ! What could it not do for many a China- 
man? We make a large part of our plea for the hea- 
then to rest not on their being so noble, but so de- 
graded and sinful ; not on their lot being cast in such 
delightful countries, but in lands long down-trodden, 
and too fruitful of hardship, suffering, and death. 
There shall our blessed Lord " say to the prisoners, 
Go forth ; to them that are in darkness, Show your- 
selves." 



X. 

PRAYER AND CORRESPONDING MEANS. 

The " life of trust " — or of faith — does not depend 
on prayer alone, but must use all appropriate means 
also, to gain its good objects. Let no one think when 
he has offered the prayer, "Thy Kingdom come," that 
he has only to wait until it does come. As well might 
he wait for his daily bread, without ploughing or 
sowing, without actual work in the counting-room, 
the field, or the office, after offering the prayer, " Give 
us this day our daily bread." The bread will not 
come without the use of means corresponding to the 
prayer. All this we recognize and act upon in our 
every-day life, and so we must in our life of trust, es- 
pecially in its active development in the work of mis- 
sions. We do not underrate the power of prayer ; it 
can not be overrated. It is, however, not on our poor 
prayers that we are to rely, but on the divine blessing 



34 • MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

given graciously in answer to them when they are 
agreeable to the will of God. 

We all admire the noble devotedness of one who 
founded great orphan asylums, without sending out 
collecting agents, or making personal appeals for the 
moneys required for his purpose ; but we must not 
think that prayer was the only means employed. 
There stand the buildings and the orphans — the for- 
mer small at first, the latter few comparatively at 
first ; but they were under the eyes of many wealthy 
and humane persons, from year to year. As they vis- 
ited the place of leisurely rest did they not also visit 
these orphanages? No doubt they saw the orphan 
children, and they learned the good efforts made for 
their welfare and the need of pecuniary gifts for their 
support. What more effective means could be used 
to second the earnest prayers offered for these orphan- 
ages ? We are far from disparaging anything con- 
nected with them; indeed we are grateful for such 
remarkable works of benevolence ; but we see that 
prayer and other means also were used with marked 
ability to secure the good result. And so in our mis- 
sionary work — prayer is indispensable. Would there 
were amongst us far more who abound in prayer, 
whose effectual, fervent, prayers avail much ! They 
would be among the foremost in going out as mis- 
sionaries ; or if this could not be, in using all proper 
means corresponding to their prayers for the support 
of those who could go, for the enlargement of their 
work, and for the blessing of God on the labor of 
their hands. 



A HEATHEN TEMPLE IN CHINA. 35 

XI. 
A HEATHEN TEMPLE IN CHINA. 

In most countries, there are buildings set-apart for 
religious worship. These buildings among Christians, 
as our youngest readers know, are called churches, or 
sometimes chapels ; among Mohammedans they are 
called mosques ; and among pagans, it is common to 
call them temples. This word, however, is not used 
exclusively for pagan religious buildings. In France 
it is usual to call the churches of Protestants temples ; 
and this for nearly the same reason which leads peo- 
ple in England to call the churches of Dissenters 
chapels — a reason growing out of the pride and big- 
otry of the established or the prevalent denomina- 
tions. 

One of the temples of the Chinese heathens is on 
Honan, an island near Canton. If it were not for its 
connection with idolatry we could look at it with 
much pleasure. We should see a small and not un- 
graceful building, which we might fancy to be a sum- 
mer-house in a garden. Extensive gardens are in fact 
connected with it, which are entered through a gate- 
way guarded by figures of deified warriors. A broad 
pathway conducts us to the temple, shaded on each 
side by the branches of the beautiful banyan. Thus 
everything in its position and the surrounding scen- 
ery is attractive, peaceful, inviting to meditation and 
devotion. Havkig said this much, we can say no 
more in its praise. If you should look into the tern- 



36 MISSION AR V PAPERS. 

pie through its open side, you would see on the inner 
wall three large images of the idol Buddh. These are 
intended to represent him as the god of the past, the 
present, and the future. Buddh thus usurps the prov- 
ince of the only living and true God, and his worship, 
like that of most idols, profanes also the idea of what 
the true God is by images. In this way, therefore, 
both the first and the second commandments are 
broken. 

If you should look again, you would see an altar, 
or a table, covered with various offerings ; on the left 
side, and on the right too, are many images of Chi- 
nese deified heroes ; several lanterns suspended in dif- 
ferent places, to throw light over the evening cere- 
monies ; and several priests worshipping the hideous 
images of Buddh. 

This is one temple, out of a great number in China. 
They are not all alike ; indeed they differ greatly from 
each other in size, situation, and the idols for whose 
worship they have been erected. But this view of 
the temple at Honan will serve to give us a general 
impression of what Idolatry is not, and of what it is. 

1. It is not a worship of the true God. 

2. It is not a worship suited to people who need 
instruction. Here is no pulpit, no preacher, no Bible, 
no seats for hearers, no place for a Sunday-school. 

3. It is not a worship suited to sinners. Here is 
nothing to set forth the idea of our need of forgive- 
ness, and purity of heart and life. It is not the wor- 
ship of righteous Abel, but of self-righteous Cain, who 
was satisfied with offering some of the fruits of the 



A HEATHEN TEMPLE IN CHINA. 37 

earth to his Maker, but felt not his need of u the 
blood of sprinkling/' 

4. We can easily understand, moreover, that it is 
not a worship suited to afflicted and dying persons. 
It can give them no support and no comfort in their 
affliction, and no peace nor any hope in their dying 
hours. 

5. It is not a worship, therefore, suited to the nev- 
er-dying soul. It gives no true light concerning the 
world beyond the grave. It is, indeed, an unsatisfy- 
ing, deluding, miserable worship ; and greatly to be 
pitied are they who know of nothing better. This 
will appear, further, if we consider briefly what Idola- 
try is, as shown by its worship in the temple at Honan. 

1. It is giving honor to other gods than the one 
living and true God. 

2. It is having images, and worshipping them in- 
stead of the true God. 

3. It is an outward, ceremonial practice, or a doing 
of certain rites, as if these could be pleasing to God, 
and meritorious in his sight without confession of sin, 
and without faith in the only mediator between God 
and man. 

4. Being thus a mere ritual worship, it is as such in 
a great degree burdensome and oppressive to those 
who engage in it. They give their time and their 
property for that which does them no good at all, but 
is utterly useless. In the hope of removing sickness, 
in time of bereavement, in the fear of death, the poor 
deluded worshippers will send costly presents to them 
that are no gods, and spend large sums in feeing their 



38 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

not less deluded and often far more wicked priests, 
for performing these worthless rites. After all, they 
are not relieved, nor comforted, but are only made 
worse, in their sin and misery. 

5. It is a worship, which gives license to almost 
every sin. Its gods are sinners ; its priests sin with 
little restraint ; its votaries sin unblushingly. It is a 
worship which offends God, pleases the devil, and de- 
stroys the souls of men. 

The object of Christian Missions is to change these 
heathen temples into churches of Christ, to banish 
this wretched worship out of China and every other 
country, and to teach our poor fellow-travellers to the 
eternal world how to worship God in spirit and in 
truth. In this way the missionary and every friend 
and supporter of missions seek to confer the greatest 
possible blessings, temporal and eternal, upon those 
who now vainly resort to this temple of Honan, and 
other houses of idols. 



XII. 
IS MISSIONARY LIFE FAVORABLE TO PIETY? 

MOST persons believe that missionaries are men 
and women of piety far above that of common Chris- 
tians. This opinion is founded partly on their being 
willing to give up their friends and home for the pur- 
pose of living among the heathen. It is supposed 



MISSIONAR Y LIFE. 39 

that such a sacrifice could be made only under the 
influence of strong religious principle ; and it is fur- 
ther supposed that missionary life must be in a great 
degree favorable to eminent attainments in piety, 
Many have read the memoirs of missionaries like 
Brainerd, Martyn, Harriet Newell, and others, who 
were eminent in the graces of a holy life ; and these 
have been taken as the examples of the piety of all 
missionaries. 

The missionaries themselves, no doubt, would as a 
body earnestly wish that this common opinion of 
their piety were well founded ; but they would regret 
the prevalence of mistaken views on such a subject. 
The missionary body is now a somewhat large one, 
and it is but reasonable to suppose that it must em- 
brace members, whose attainments in the divine life 
are far from being either uniform or eminent. It is 
not doubted, indeed, that many of those who con- 
tribute- to their support, remaining at home accord- 
ing to the will of God, are influenced by greater faith 
and love, and make greater sacrifice of ease and com- 
fort for the sake of the heathen, than are found among 
some of those who are on missionary ground. When 
missionaries return from their fields of labor, on visits 
for their health, or in order to engage in labors in the 
home field, the impression made by them in their in- 
tercourse with the Christian community is found to 
be marked by great degrees of inequality; some are 
felt to be holy men and women ; others would hardly 
be selected as examples of an unworldly and humble 
piety — seeking not its own things, but the things of 



4 o MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Christ. It is doubtless true that men may become 
missionaries without being persons eminent in grace. 
The vow of consecration, sincere and controlling, may 
lead them to go to the ends of the earth ; while yet 
they may be greatly defective in love to God and 
men. The Apostle gives a striking view of this in 
I Cor. xiii., and we see Romanist missionaries encoun- 
tering all the privations and dangers of a residence 
among the heathen. In cases where love is not want- 
ing, it may be sadly counterbalanced by selfishness, 
pride, or vanity. Very devoted persons are some- 
times self-willed, overbearing, deficient in the gentler 
graces, unlovable. In short, the fact of a man's be- 
coming a missionary is a presumptive proof of his 
elevated piety, but we must look to his subsequent 
life for the evidence that he walks in the footsteps of 
Martyn or Brainerd ; yet it is an assured truth that 
many of the most excellent of the earth, in the rich 
experience of the grace of Christ, and in its beautiful 
manifestation in a holy, humble life, are to be found 
in the missionary body. 

Contrary to the impression of many, missionary 
life is not peculiarly conducive to eminence in piety. 
Such, it is believed, will be the testimony of all mis- 
sionaries. Many causes tend to hinder their growth 
in grace. The stated services of the sanctuary, the 
communion of saints, the incentive of Christian exam- 
ple, are seldom largely enjoyed on missionary ground. 
At home the piety of the members of the church is 
greatly strengthened by these things. After the quiet 
and the worship of the Sabbath, the people of God 



MISSIONARY LIFE. 41 

go forth to the employments of the week, with new 
strength to resist temptations and to abound in every 
good word and work; and if they should become 
weary or discouraged, they are often cheered by the 
kindly voice of a sympathizing Christian friend, or 
animated by his example. The missionary, at many a 
station, seldom witnesses a Sabbath day in the world 
around him, and finds it no easy matter to keep alive 
in his own little circle the happy influences of the 
day of rest. The privation of the means of grace, es- 
pecially as these are enjoyed in common with other 
disciples of kindred intelligence and culture, is one of 
the serious drawbacks to missionary piety. 

But there are more positive hinderances. The pres- 
ence of heathenism itself must be reckoned among 
these. The missionary is by nature a man of like pas- 
sions with the people around him. Their low views 
and corrupt practices may, at first, be looked upon 
with unmitigated disgust, but they come at length to 
be regarded as customary, and imperceptibly they ex- 
ert a stupefying power over the soul, like a poisoned 
atmosphere benumbing the faculties of the body. At 
many stations, moreover, there is more or less inter- 
course between missionaries and worldly-minded Eu- 
ropeans and Americans — an intercourse which for 
some reasons it is desirable to maintain ; and yet too 
often it results in a sadly deteriorated tone of spiritu- 
ality among the servants of Christ. Melancholy wrecks 
of missionary usefulness can be traced in part to this 
cause, and even the withdrawal of some from the mis- 
sionary work. Where such extreme results have not 



42 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

followed, there has been a sensitiveness to the praise 
of men, an impatience of temper, a weariness of the 
work, or a concern for personal comfort, which would 
have been looked upon with equal surprise and grief 
by the missionary at an earlier stage of his course. 
The intercourse, also, of missionary families with each 
other, especially at a large station, may be too readily 
marked by the want of religious purpose, and too 
easily degenerate into unprofitable commonplaces ; 
though unsocial, morose, or unbending severity are no 
more praiseworthy at a missionary station than in a 
home parsonage. The main and great difficulty, how- 
ever, that hinders the growth of piety everywhere, is 
not found in outward circumstances, but in the heart 
within. This remains deceitful, prone to go astray, 
ready to be weary of a self-denying life, craving ease, 
longing for earthly enjoyment. It is the same evil 
heart of unbelief after it has crossed the sea ; and it 
will always be the same, except as divine grace re- 
news it, sanctifies it, and fits it for heaven — -thereby 
best fitting it for usefulness and happiness among the 
heathen. 

It were wrong to make the impression that mis- 
sionary life possesses no advantages for the growth of 
grace in the heart. The true Christian will grow in 
grace and in the knowledge of Christ in any and every 
lawful calling, and in any place on the earth ; this is 
not to be questioned. Moreover, the calling and du- 
ties of a missionary are in some important respects 
favorable to a life of piety. His time is wholly set 
apart to his great work ; no portion of it is consumed 



MISSIONARY LIFE. 43 

in providing the means of his support, nor is his mind 
often corroded with anxiety as to " making the two 
ends meet " ; but with a heart free from care and full 
of gratitude, he may give himself up to the work set 
before him. In entering on this work and continuing 
in it, he is constantly reminded of the great grace 
given unto himself, in making him to differ from the 
miserable heathens around him ; and this becomes an 
affecting motive to draw him near the Saviour, and to 
make him faithful in the work to which he has been 
called. That work itself exerts an important influ- 
ence on his piety. It is the work of saving lost souls. 
It has to deal chiefly with the essential truths of the 
great salvation. It may lack the variety of study 
which the pastoral, office in a Christian country re- 
quires, but it will also lack some of its temptations. 
And under the guidance of the Spirit, the mission- 
ary's instruction and experience, as a teacher of re- 
ligion, will tend to promote his own progress and 
comfort in the divine life. Often will his thoughts 
travel homeward, moreover, and always with the ten- 
derest emotion; more than ever will he prize the be- 
loved Church whose servant he is among the heathen ; 
and whether he remembers his relatives or his Chris- 
tian friends, he will feel himself impelled to a high 
and holy life, by every tender recollection of their 
sympathy and love. Few men are borne up by so 
many prayers. Few men could halt in their Christian 
course, and thereby grieve so many pious hearts. 
And what is far more, he feels himself to be in a 
special sense under the eye and the arm of the blessed 



44 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Saviour, according to his promise, which has a pe- 
culiar value to one who is literally obeying its pre- 
ceding commandment. These are holy incentives to 
a life of piety among the gospel-needing heathen. 

The missionary, like his Christian brethren at home, 
is engaged in a warfare, encounters temptations, is 
called to endure various trials, sickness, bereave- 
ment ; and together with these, some deep sorrows, 
especially those connected with the separation of his 
children from their home for a season, from which his 
brethren in a Christian land are exempted ; but he 
has the sure promise of grace to help in every time 
of need. He finds that, with the grace of God, mis- 
sionary life and missionary work are full of blessing 
to himself, no less than to others. . And he rejoices to 
spend and be spent in this holy service. 

Thoughts like these may indicate the way in which 
the churches at home can best promote the usefulness 
and happiness of missionaries. It is by praying for 
them, that they may be eminent in piety — " Full of 
faith and of the Holy Ghost." 



XIII. 

THE GREAT WANT OF A MISSIONARY. 

We have hesitated a little to print the following 
extract from a letter received from one of our re- 
spected missionary brethren, lest it should be misun- 



THE GREAT WANT OF A MISSIONARY. 45 

derstood as expressing more than the writer proba- 
bly intended to convey. But as it was written, we 
suppose, for public use, and as it may lead many of 
the brethren to self-examination, and to a more ear- 
nest walk with God, we give it place in our pages. 
It may be of service to many of us here at home, as 
well as to some on missionary ground. We add only 
the remark, that, while there is everywhere danger 
of one's becoming too formal in the performance of 
regular and uniform duty, there may be special dan- 
gers to the life of piety in the soul in one's walk and 
'conversation at a missionary station. 

" The great want I find in myself, and I think it is 
the great want of the missionaries here, and one of 
the greatest obstacles to our success, is the want of 
an entire renunciation of self and of more entire con- 
secration to our Master. I believe if we were as anx- 
ious in regard to the extension of our Redeemer's 
Kingdom, as we are in regard to our own bodily com- 
fort and convenience, and talked with each other and 
thought as much and formed as many plans about it, 
we should have far more of the blessing of God rest- 
ing upon our labors. We need to be self-denying in 
spirit, for our external circumstances are certainly 
exceedingly comfortable — far better than those of 
most of our ministers at home, with the single excep- 
tion of being so far away from our friends. Oh, that 
the Church at home knew and felt this to be our 
great want — spirituality of mind and earnest conse- 
cration, and would direct their prayers in part to this 
special object ! An earnest Christian life, it seems to 



46 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

me, would have a most powerful influence on others ; 
I believe there must be a power in it even over the 
heathen. Oh, for the outpouring of the Spirit upon 
us!" 



XIV. 
THE GIFTS OF THE RICH. 

We hear a good, deal of the gifts of the poor. 
Nor do we complain of this. Their liberality often 
abounds in their deep poverty, and the great apostle 
thought it worthy of record to their praise. 

But we would also like to hear of the gifts of the 
rich. And we may. A few days ago, a gentleman 
called at the Mission House of our Board, and gave 
a donation from himself and a friend, that was large 
enough to support five or six missionaries for a year 
in Africa. Not long ago another gentleman called at 
the same place, and " wishing to do a good act be- 
fore going out of town," gave a hundred dollars as 
his gift to the cause of missions. Many similar ex- 
amples could, no doubt, rje enumerated. These two 
impressed my mind the more deeply, because of their 
donors' standing as thorough business men in the 
commercial city where our Board is located. I know 
them to be closely observing men, of the best judg- 
ment, of large views, of the highest integrity, and 
well acquainted with the affairs of the Board. The 
donations of such men are a strong recommenda- 



THE GIFTS OF THE RICH. 47 

tion of the institution to which they were made, and 
a decided testimony to the importance of the mis- 
sionary cause. 

Many persons do not think rightly of the gifts of 
the rich. There are not a few who will say, " If I 
were rich, I would do" so and so, — a remark which 
often shows that those who make it do not know 
themselves. Human nature in them is the same 
as in their richer neighbor ; and if he does not act 
agreeably to their ideas of liberality, it is a pre- 
sumptive proof that without more grace they would 
themselves come equally short when placed in afflu- 
ent circumstances. If they were rich, they would 
probably give less to the cause of Christ than they 
do now. Let them learn a lesson of charity from 
the many examples of this kind, presented by those 
who have received worldly prosperity without cor- 
responding grace, and whose hearts have grown 
smaller as their wealth increased. 

Few are aware of the multiplication of expenses 
which commonly attends the acquirement and the 
possession of riches. Few remember the scripture, 
" If riches are increased, they are increased that eat 
them." Few consider the claims, well and ill found- 
ed, which are made on a rich man's property by his 
connections and acquaintances, in many forms — 
claims more easily complained of than refused. Few 
are aware of the number of applications in the sacred 
names of religion or benevolence, which are made to 
men of reputed wealth and liberality, applications 
of all sorts and from all places, urged without discrim- 



48 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

ination and with ample zeal, and yet often so un- 
worthy in themselves and so unbecomingly presented, 
that it seems wonderful that a feeling of disgust is 
not more frequently aroused against everything that 
wears the appearance of a request for pecuniary aid. 
And few are at all aware of the manifold temptations 
which are likely to assail a man of large means, and 
which we may believe, in connection with other 
things, led our Saviour to utter those solemn words, 
" How hardly shall a rich man enter into the king- 
dom of heaven ! " Few consider these things, and 
therefore few think rightly of the donations of the 
rich. 

The Church of God has some rich members, and 
many poor ones. They have all been redeemed, not 
with corruptible things as silver and gold, but with 
the precious blood of Christ. They are under com- 
mon and equal obligations to redeeming grace, and 
are animated by a common spirit — that of Christ, 
without which they are none of his. They must all 
practice self-denial, abound in every good work, and 
be faithful as stewards, according to their several 
talents. The poor must give as the Lord hath pros- 
pered them, and the same law governs the rich. Let 
the spirit of grateful, warm affection to Christ prompt 
all to devise liberal things, according to their means, 
and then the Church will prove a blessing in the 
highest degree to the world. 

We almost envy our richer brethren their power 
of doing good, but we would stand in doubt of our- 
selves if entrusted with wealth ; very safely, however, 



-LARGE GIFTS. 49 

do we desire more of the spirit which we sometimes 
see in their gifts. Their privilege it is, to do good 
with their money ; their wisdom it is, to make friends 
of their riches ; their glory it is, to glorify their 
Saviour with their choicest treasures, like Mary with 
the box of precious ointment. Of none of these 
would we deprive them, but we would wish that 
others may " go and do likewise " ; and we would 
pray that all, whether rich or poor, may " know the 
grace of him, who, though he was rich, for our sakes be- 
came poor, that we through his poverty might be rich." 



XV. 
LARGE GIFTS. 

It is worthy of note that $66,000 were given to our 
cause last year by six of our Christian friends, in 
sums or $5,000, $8,000, $10,000, $20,000 by two, and 
$23,000. Others of our church members sent in gifts 
varying from $2,000 to $500, and others still gave 
their hundreds and smaller sums, relatively as large 
as any. We bless God for these liberal gifts, and still 
more for the grace given to the donors. They were 
enabled thereby to withstand the temptations and 
inducements which render many persons of large 
means unable if not unwilling to aid the cause of 
Christ by gifts proportioned to their income. These 
donations were made by men who know well the 
3 



50 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

value of money, and who also know the work of 
Christian missions. And they were unostentatious 
no less than liberal. We honor the faith of our 
friends. We commend their example. We are sure 
that it was their privilege to act as stewards of the 
gracious Proprietor ; his approving eye rested upon 
their gifts. These treasures were well invested. 
This bread was cast upon the waters in many lands, 
to be found sooner or later, it may be after many 
days, perhaps long after we shall have entered into 
rest. 



XVI. 
GIFTS OF THE POOR. 

TOUCHING examples of liberal giving by Christian 
friends of very narrow means are recorded in the 
acknowledgments of last year's receipts. These gifts 
were sometimes known only to the Saviour, some- 
times only to a few sympathizing friends ; but rela- 
tively viewed, they remind one of the widow's two 
mites, which make a farthing. How thankful we 
should feel for the inspired record of her noble gift ! 
If some of our friends are able to give large sums, 
others, in far larger number, are placed in moderate 
but comfortable circumstances, and their gifts are the 
main source of supply. We are far from undervalu- 
ing their liberality ; we are grateful for it, and recog- 



DISINTERESTEDNESS. 51 

nize it as above all price, and as indispensable to the 
progress of our cause. But, after all, it is the gifts 
of the poor that have most deeply touched our feel- 
ings. A day laborer, for example, year after year 
gave the largest donation received by the Board from 
a strong congregation. His pastor several times 
spoke of it to one of the executive officers, though 
the name of this liberal donor was not to be men- 
tioned. In later years his circumstances were 
improved, and his gifts were increased in equal or 
greater degree. Lately this good man entered into 
his rest. In the receipts of last year there is an ac- 
knowledgment of the last gift of a saint on her death- 
bed, relatively very large in amount ; though it was 
but a few dollars, it represented the self-denial and 
the liberal devising for many years of one brought 
up in affluence, but who had long been living on a 
very straitened income. Blessed are the Lord's poor, 
and blessed are their gifts to his cause-! 



XVII. 

DISINTERESTEDNESS. 

All persons connected with the work of missions 
should be disinterested. No one should engage in 
this work " to make money," to better his worldly 
condition, to gain a position of greater credit among 
his fellow-men, to enjoy comfort or ease. Motives 



52 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

of this kind may not be out of place in many callings, 
but missionaries, secretaries, and all engaged in efforts 
to save the souls of the unevangelized, should be influ- 
enced supremely by the Spirit and the example of our 
blessed Lord in his ministry among men, and by that 
of the eminent apostle to the Gentiles. The nature and 
object of their work require this. The self-denying 
gifts of their Christian brethren for their support 
require this ; very many of the donors are in most 
narrow circumstances, and give what they could well 
use for their own almost necessary comfort. They 
shall not lose their reward ; but gifts marked by the 
spirit of great self-denial should be used with a sacred 
economy. This indeed holds true of the gifts of many 
persons in more comfortable circumstances. We have 
been often strongly impressed with the real spirit of 
self-denial and self-sacrifice involved in gifts each of 
several hundred and even of several thousand dollars. 
All this is- seen by the loving Saviour, and he will 
graciously accept and bless such efforts to serve him ; 
but not the less, indeed all the more, should such 
good offerings call forth a responsive feeling on the 
part of those who are thereby enabled to serve our 
Lord by direct personal labors in his cause. 

Unevangelized people in missionary fields, and 
irreligious people at home, seldom rightly under- 
stand our missionary aim and endeavors ; but there 
are few Chinese or Hindus or even Africans who can 
not understand a disinterested life. The rule of most 
missionary boards, not referring to private income in 
any case, but requiring funds received by brethren 



WORK FOR CHRIST. 53 

for outside services to be turned over to the local 
treasury, while they continue to live as missionaries 
on the usual salary, is one not merely useful in pro- 
tecting the cause of missions and the character of 
missionaries from injurious criticism, but it is in the 
direct line of these thoughts — it greatly tends to 
maintain and increase the influence of the Church's 
laborers. 

We aim here at no extended statement of this sub- 
ject. Our attention has been recalled to it by reading 
again the life of the great missionary, who served our 
Lord in Southern India from 1750 to 1798.* His 
being so disinterested had much to do with his won- 
derful influence among both Hindus and Europeans. 
His memoirs are a treasury of «iissionary experience. 



XVIII. 



THE PRIVILEGE OF LARGE AND VARIED 
WORK FOR CHRIST. 

The Foreign Missions of our Church give its mem- 
bers the privilege of doing a large and varied work 
for the Lord Jesus in many countries. We fear that 
this idea is sometimes overlooked. Let us recall it 
to our thoughts as we enter on a new year. It might 



* Memoirs of the Life and Correspondence of Rev. Christian 
Frederick Swartz, by Hugh Pearson, D.D. 2 vols. Second edition, 
London. J. Hatchford & Son, 1835. 



54 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

have been so ordered that little or no opportunity 
would have been afforded to us of direct labors to 
make our Saviour's name known to our fellow-men 
in Africa, Syria, Persia, India, Siam, China, Japan, 
South America, Mexico, among our Indian tribes, and 
in Europe. Many of our Christian brethren of other 
denominations do not enjoy this privilege. We con- 
sider it a great distinction that so great and varied a 
work is set before us. It is one which tends to en- 
large our views of the world in which we live, to ex- 
pand our knowledge of Divine providence, to call 
forth our sympathy for men of like passions with our 
own, whose sins and sorrows are burdens beyond 
their strength, but who know not how to have them 
taken away. From t&e high place in Zion where we 
dwell, we look far off to these lands of darkness, and 
we long to see them enlightened from on high. We 
long to see our Saviour's name honored, our Saviour's 
grace received, by the myriads of their inhabitants. 
And we accept it, and give thanks to God for it, as a 
privilege beyond all price, that we may be co-workers 
with our Lord in giving his Gospel to these sinful, 
suffering people. 

If, in the past, we have not rightly valued this 
privilege, let this new year witness greater faith and 
more earnest labor. The work is great ; the time is 
short ; but great is the grace offered to us, and great 
will be the reward of faithful service. 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 55 

XIX.* 

THE HOLY GHOST THE POWER OF CHRISTIAN 
WITNESSES. 

We are accustomed to regard the first age of the 
Church as the best. The piety and the evangelizing 
labors of the Apostles and first Christians are consid- 
ered an example to the followers of Christ in all sub- 
sequent ages ; but so far as the essential things — the 
things essential to the piety and the usefulness of the 
Church — are concerned, its members now and its 
members in the days of the Apostles stand on the 
same footing. Their circumstances and ours differ in 
some respects, but both they and we have life and 
ever live by faith in Jesus Christ, are moved by the 
same Spirit, are called to the same work, and look for 
the same reward. If then the piety and the works of 
modern Christians are not Apostolic, what shall we 
say? How shall we account for our falling so far 
short of their example ? And how shall we be en- 
abled to reach their noble standard ? We have the 
answer, " Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy 
Ghost is come upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses 
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in 
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 

This "verse sets before us the power and the work 
of the followers of Christ in all ages to the end of 
time. It forms a part of our Lord's words to his dis- 
ciples just before his ascension. He had corrected 



* In St. Louis, May 17, 1866. 



56 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

their error in looking for an earthly, Jewish kingdom, 
and he declared to them that they were to receive a 
divine power, and to do a divine work ; and then, 
"when he had spoken these things" — these very 
words — " while they beheld, he was taken up ; and a 
cloud received him out of their sight." They stood 
"gazing up into heaven," trying to look through the 
cloud to see their friend and Saviour as he passed 
above the skies. And for them his words would ever 
have the deepest personal interest. They are also 
applicable to all the disciples of Christ. They were 
spoken at the end of one epoch and the beginning of 
another. The Hebrew times were now to cease ; the 
world-wide system of the Gospel was now to be set 
up. These words declared the speedy manifestation 
of the Holy Ghost, and his energy was to be the 
power of the disciples, even "the power of the Holy 
Ghost coming upon them"; and then they should go 
forth to their great work for life and enter upon their 
high destiny, as witnesses unto Christ, " both in Jeru- 
salem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the 
uttermost parts of the earth." The circumstances 
under which these words were spoken, their deep im- 
port, and their vast range, commend them to our ear- 
nest study 

I. No formal statement of the faith of the Church 
concerning the Holy Ghost is here called for. We 
remind ourselves of his character as God equal with 
the Father and the Son, and of his office in the work 
of salvation — that of applying unto men the benefits 
of redemption. He is the person of the Trinity 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 57 

through whose agency God exerts his gracious power 
on the hearts of men. That his power was obtained 
for us by Jesus Christ, that he takes of the things of 
Christ and shows them unto us, that in all his work 
he glorifies Christ, greatly increases our obligation to 
our blessed Saviour, but does not diminish our in- 
debtedness to the Holy Spirit. 

It is the power of the Holy Spirit as given to the 
disciples for a particular purpose — that of their being 
witnesses unto Christ — that must chiefly engage our 
attention. Three things may be specified in this 
power — Miracles and Tongues, New Life, and Con- 
version. 

1. The power of working miracles and of speaking 
with unknown tongues was given to accredit the 
Apostles and other Christian teachers, as they went 
forth to proclaim their divine message. Nothing 
could have better answered this purpose. Here was 
evidently the presence of God ; no human agency 
could produce such results as these. " Parthians, and 
Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopota- 
mia," and all the rest, heard in their own tongues 
"the wonderful works of God," spoken by a few plain, 
uneducated men, mostly from Galilee. And soon 
after this, the lame man, who had so long asked alms 
at the beautiful gate of the temple, was seen walking, 
and leaping, and praising God, and they were filled 
with amazement. And so it was in many examples ; 
the religion of Christ- was shown to be of God by the 
clearest proofs. This was accomplished during a 
number of years, a period long enough to show con- 



58 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

clusively the divine character of this new religion — - 
long enough to establish facts beyond question or 
cavil in proof of the divine agency now at work 
amongst men. "These facts once established, capa- 
ble of proof, a part of history, it was then needless 
to continue in the Church the exercise of these su- 
pernatural gifts, and they were gradually withdrawn. 
In their communication, in their remarkable effect on 
the minds of men, in their record in sacred history ; 
in a word, in the outpouring of the Spirit on the dis- 
ciples on the day of Pentecost, we find a striking part 
of the evidence on which our faith in the Gospel 
rests, and a not less striking fulfilment of the promise 
of our Lord to the disciples that they should be 
clothed with power, even the power of the Holy 
Ghost coming upon them. 

2. This promise of power is not to be understood 
as restricted to the day of Pentecost, nor to the im- 
parting of supernatural gifts : its gracious presence, 
in their own souls, was signally manifested on that 
notable day, and to the end of their lives. 

They were made new men when this power came 
upon them. Under the teaching and example of our 
Saviour himself, they had been dull of apprehension, 
slow to believe, and to the last too much governed 
by worldly views ; they had contended which of them 
should be the greatest, and had desired the chief 
places in his kingdom as an earthly kingdom ; but 
all this was now to disappear. These doubting, un- 
believing men were to become strong in the faith, 
giving glory to God. These timid disciples were to 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 59 

become bold and fearless men ; soon they would be 
seen going forth from their retired upper room, tak- 
ing their stand in public places, preaching the most 
unwelcome doctrines, fulfilling their ministry in the 
face of all opposition, defying all danger — and where- 
fore ? Because the Spirit of God would powerfully 
influence their hearts, cause them to understand 
divine truth clearly, and to know the love of Christ 
shed abroad in their hearts as the great motive of 
their lives. Thus they became indifferent to the 
praise or the censure of men ; they counted nothing 
too costly to be laid on the altar of God ; they made 
up their minds to endure hardship, reproach, perse- 
cution, imprisonment, scourging, martyrdom ; and 
they went forward to the end, earnest, godly, Christ- 
like men — such men as were moved by divine power. 
If they had been fond of ease and comfort, half 
spiritual and half secular in their aims, trying to 
serve God and Mammon, how different would have 
been their course, how little their influence and use- 
fulness ! There would then have been no martyrdom 
of Stephen, no burning life of Paul, no banishment 
of the beloved John, no setting up of the kingdom 
which is not of this world, no glorifying of that 
blessed name given among men whereby only sinners 
can be saved. 

3. The Holy Ghost converts the souls of men in 
connection with the preaching of the Gospel. 

So it is declared in Isaiah, " I will pour my Spirit 
upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring " ; 
and then as the immediate result, " they shall spring 



60 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

up as among the grass, as willows by the water- 
courses." A beautiful image to describe the life and 
fruitfulness produced by the Holy Spirit in the hearts 
of men, even as we have often seen in our mead- 
ows the course of some little stream marked by the 
greener grass and the graceful willows which fringe 
its banks. The apostle cites the prophecy of Joel 
li. 32, as fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. Our Lord 
himself speaks of the presence of the Spirit as if the 
work of salvation were waiting for and depending on 
his power ; it was expedient that he should go away, 
in order that the Comforter might come. For three 
long years had our blessed Saviour taught the people, 
speaking as no man ever spake, and yet but a few 
hundred persons became his followers ; but when the 
Holy Spirit was given, three thousand souls were con- 
verted under a single sermon of one of his disciples, 
and thenceforward great was the success of the 
preachers of the Gospel. With his power, their 
ministiy is successful ; without it Paul may plant 
and Apollos may water in vain. The prophecy of 
Joel warrants the highest hopes of the Church in all 
coming years. How easily may large multitudes of 
men be converted in a very short time ! How surely 
may we see a nation born in a day ! Both Scripture 
and our own observation encourage us to expect 
wonderful success in all scriptural efforts for the sal- 
vation of men. Multitudes were converted at Jerusa- 
lem soon after our Lord's ascension. And have we 
not seen hundreds, yea, thousands, of souls saved in 
the islands of the seas, among the Karens in Burmah, 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 61 

and in other missionary fields, in a few short years ! 
Have we not seen examples of this in our own land, 
in many places, when the Spirit has been poured out 
from on high, when ministers have preached with 
power, when whole congregations have been moved 
as the trees of the forest by a mighty wind, and when 
scores and hundreds have been added to the Church 
of such as shall be saved ! So it shall be in all lands. 
Before the preaching of the Word, and the power of 
the Holy Ghost, ignorance, prejudice, worldliness, 
and selfishness, shall give way as mists and clouds 
before the sun. Paganism, Mohammedanism, Rit- 
ualism, Rationalism, shall all be overcome, and the 
kingdom of God which is righteousness, peace, and 
joy in the Holy Ghost, shall extend from sea to sea, 
and from the river unto the ends of the earth. The 
Lord hasten it in his time ! 

II. The work to be done by the disciples is next 
set forth, — they were to be witnesses unto Christ, at 
home and abroad. 

A witness is one who is able to speak from personal 
knowledge, and not from hearsay ; and he is one who 
must speak the truth with fidelity. If either per- 
sonal knowledge or truth is wanting, his testimony 
would have no value. The disciples must bear wit- 
ness, ist, to the person and character of Christ ; 2d, 
to his doctrines or the truth revealed by him ; and 
3d, to his truth as the means employed in the con- 
version of the world. 

1. The first disciples were literally eye-witnesses of 
the life and character of Christ. Some of them were 



62 MISSWNAR V PA PERS. 

chosen to be apostles for the distinctive reason, that 
they had seen the Lord Jesus ; and as only those who 
had actually seen him could be apostles, they can 
have no successors in that high office. But all the 
disciples, then and ever since, could be witnesses 
unto Christ in the sense of their experimental knowl- 
edge of his grace. They can speak from their heart- 
felt conviction of their own sinful, guilty, helpless, 
and perishing situation, until Christ is revealed unto 
them by the Holy Spirit as the Lamb of God that 
taketh away the sin of the world, and they are en- 
abled to receive him in his person and his offices as 
their Redeemer. They can now bear witness to him 
as one who is precious unto them that believe, as one 
altogether lovely, even the chief among ten thousand, 
as one worthy of the highest ascriptions of praise. It 
is their great privilege, and it is almost essential to 
their comfort, if not to their usefulness, in their 
efforts to promote his cause, that they should feel 
that they are related to Christ by covenant, really 
united to him in close and sacred bonds. Their 
prayers will then be addressed to no shadowy, far- 
off, ideal personage, but to him whom they regard as 
ever present with them ; their whole ministry will be 
performed as under the eye of their blessed Lord. 
By communion with him, they will be strengthened 
for every duty, supported under every trial, delivered 
from the fear of man, and enabled to be faithful even 
until death. They will not preach or speak of a Sav- 
iour unknown to themselves, nor testify of grace 
which they have not received, nor rest in formal ex- 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 63 

ternal services performed according to some prescribed 
order ; but they will speak as those who have been 
with Jesus. And though all men should forsake him, 
they will say, " Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou 
hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and 
are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the liv- 
ing God." 

2. The disciples are witnesses unto the truth as re- 
vealed by Christ. All that he taught and left on 
record in the Scriptures they receive as of the highest 
authority, as binding on the conscience, and as to be 
always upheld and maintained by them. There are 
things hard to be understood in the Bible, and there 
are things of deep mystery far exceeding the limits 
of human reason, which the disciples do not profess 
to comprehend ; yet to the truth of these things they 
can bear testimony, because contained in a Book di- 
vinely attested, because they can readily believe that 
profound mysteries to our feeble intellect are plain 
and clear to the infinite mind of God, and because 
these deep truths often find their echo in their inmost 
conscience. They can bear witness to the truth of 
the whole Inspired Record, even if they do not un- 
derstand some parts of it, just as many a witness in a 
court of justice gives his testimony to facts of which 
he is sure, though he may not understand their bear- 
ing on the subject, nor see how they are to affect the 
cause under trial. 

Besides giving their testimony as individuals, each 
in his place and lot, according to his gifts and grace, 
the disciples of Christ must bear witness unto his 



64 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

truth when associated together as members of the 
Church. To preserve the truth is one of the purposes 
for which the Church was established. The Old Testa- 
ment Church preserved the truth concerning the one 
living and true God in the midst of a world given to 
idolatry. The New Testament Church has this also 
as one of its main designs ; it is to be " the pillar and 
ground of the truth " ; it is to be a witness for all the 
truth that God has revealed, no matter how it may 
be opposed or perverted. The Creeds and Confes- 
sions of the Church have the maintaining and pre- 
serving of the truth as one of their main purposes. 
Subscription and assent to these doctrinal standards 
is one way of upholding the truth. The venerable 
Confession of Faith in which we glory is chiefly 
prized by us for its clear and admirable statement 
of the truth as contained in Holy Scripture. God 
will honor the Church that puts honor on his truth 
and cause. I doubt not that one of the two great rea- 
sons of the wonderful prosperity of our Church in 
the last thirty years is to be found in the fact, that as 
a Church we were faithful to God's truth. And in 
whatever is done, or not done, looking in the direc- 
tion of organic union with other bodies of Christians, 
the truth and our profession of it must be held sacred 
by us, and not be in the least degree compromised, if 
we would continue to enjoy the blessing of the God 
of truth. 

This testimony should have reference to the clear- 
ness with which divine truths are revealed, rather 
than to any difference that may exist as to the impor- 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 65 

talice of these truths. It requires an architect to tell 
what is essential to a grand edifice and what is non- 
essential ; so we are poor judges of the relative im- 
portance of the truths of revelation. We shall find 
it to be a safe and good rule, while we maintain all 
the truths of the Bible, to give to each that place 
which it seems to occupy on the sacred page. It is 
not enough to dwell on a few leading truths. The 
Bible is our text-book, and the world our congrega- 
tion ; to all men, of every nation, class, and condi- 
tion ; to all subjects that have a right or a wrong side 
in a religious or moral aspect, the testimony of the 
disciples must have due reference. We can admit no 
theory of the province of the pulpit, nor of the sphere 
of a Christian man's duty, which would deprive this 
testimony of its power as against what is morally 
wrong. If what is wrong seeks to entrench itself 
behind public legislation, as in the case of Sabbath 
mails or lotteries, or behind party political action, as 
in the case of the oppression of a weaker race, or be- 
hind popular movements ending in riot or rebellion 
against the powers that be, the wrong must not be 
let alone. We have reason to fear that the withhold- 
ing of this testimony, in too many instances, results 
in the profaning of God's holy name and day, the de- 
nial of justice to the colored races of this country — 
th'e Indian, the Negro, and of late the Chinese, and 
the overthrow of those ideas of reverence for law and 
subjection to authority, which are essential to the 
welfare both of the Church and the State, especially 
on our theory of public affairs. For with us the law is 



66 MISSIONAR V PAPERS. 

maintained more by the power of conscience than by 
standing military force, and to the right exercise of 
conscience nothing is more needful than Christian 
witnessing unto the truth, or at any rate nothing but 
the truth itself. 

We plead for no political action by the Church or 
by her courts ; we plead for no improper meddling 
with the things of Caesar by the subjects of Christ's 
kingdom — for no departure from the themes of the 
Bible, for no violation of the proprieties of the house 
of God, for no forsaking of the concerns of eternity. 
Our church courts are very properly debarred by our 
Standards— chap. xxxi. — from taking any part in the 
administration of the State, except as requested ; in 
this country the Church and the State are not united, 
and church courts have here no civil duties such as 
devolve on the spiritual peers of the British House of 
Lords, and such as ambitious prelates in Scotland 
would gladly have taken upon them, in the age when 
our Confession was reconstructed from the Articles 
of Faith which came down from the days of the 
Apostles. Thankful indeed are we for the separation 
of the Church of this land from the State ; but let us 
guard against the great mistake of thinking that the 
Church has therefore no duty to perform of giving 
her testimony against iniquity because it may be 
prevalent in high places. 

In our country our greatest danger is not that 
of too much interference with public affairs in the 
way of testifying against what is wrong by the Church 
and by Christian people. It is only too easy to let 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 67 

what is wrong alone. It accords too readily with our 
willingness to avoid the cross ; and so the voice of 
our testimony is kept back, or lowered down to an 
inaudible whisper. Our greatest danger in this land 
consists in our not holding forth these revealed truths 
which best regulate both governors and people, which 
assert the supreme authority of God, the sacredness 
of an oath, the duty of doing that which is just and 
equal to all men, the need of consideration for their 
less favored fellow-men by the rich, the need of con- 
tentment and patience by the poor, the interests of 
the judgment to come and the retributions of eterni- 
ty. All these inspired teachings we are to testify 
not merely in the abstract, but in their application to 
all such moral wrongs as from time to time seek pub- 
lic acknowledgment. Our testimony should certainly 
be impersonal — never singling out particular persons 
in a congregation for public rebuke ; and it should 
also be kept free as far as possible from connection 
with any political party movements, so that 'all men 
should see that it is prompted by fidelity to the truth 
as contained in Holy Scripture. The witnesses unto 
Christ should exercise their best judgment as to the 
time and manner of giving their testimony against 
what is evil. It may even be necessary for them to 
be silent sometimes, as our blessed Lord was before 
his unjust judges, but like him his humble disciples 
will always be faithful to their testimony ; and when 
called to do so by Providence they will declare the 
whole counsel of God. This must be done in the 
Spirit of Christ, which was eminently loving and 



68 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

meek. He severely censured the hypocrisy of the 
Scribes and Pharisees, speaking as he only could by 
authority as the omniscient judge ; but yet it was in 
deep compassion even for them. Toward his pro- 
fessed followers, when in error or even in great faults, 
he was always considerate and forbearing — not spar- 
ing rebuke, yet not putting the worst construction on 
their misconduct, but always the best and the most 
charitable. 

There are times when the testimony of the disci- 
ples, touching matters of public interest and yet hav- 
ing a religious side, becomes specially important ; 
such times particularly of perplexity, distress, and 
shaking among men, as we have lately seen in this 
country. In giving our testimony through these 
dreadful years to the duty of rendering obedience to 
the powers that be — the powers that are over us, 
whatever political opinions we may entertain of their 
character, we fulfil a sacred duty. A right under- 
standing of this duty would prevent all civil war in 
such a Christian country as ours. Indeed we can not 
but deeply feel that if the people of God in this land 
had but understood the full meaning of this duty — 
which has respect to the powers that be in actual ex- 
istence, whatever may be the theory of their existence 
— no more countenance would have been given to 
any efforts to overthrow the Government which was 
so long in the exercise of authority in all parts of the 
country, than would be given by our missionaries to 
a rebellion against the Emperor of China or the King 
of Siam. 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 69 

This whole matter is to be viewed in the light of 
testimony against what is wrong. And in presenting 
these views, we but follow the highest examples. We 
only take such lawful action as was taken by the no- 
ble men who settled our Church standards — such 
men as Witherspoon, Samuel Davies, and many oth- 
ers ; and what is far more, we but follow the example 
of our blessed Lord and the Apostles. Often do our 
Saviour's instructions refer directly to public matters, 
viewed in their religious or moral aspects ; as when 
in the face of the rulers of the Jews he vindicated the 
law of marriage, placed the right of divorce on its 
true ground, asserted the just liberty of his disciples 
concerning works of necessity on the Sabbath, taught 
the duty of obedience even to an oppressive Govern- 
ment by the payment of taxes — all of which were not 
merely matters of religion, but were also matters of 
party conflict or of public law. And so of the Apos- 
tles. The Apostle Paul's noble declaration, that he 
would know nothing among the Corinthians but 
Christ and him crucified, and everything in his two 
Epistles to their church perfectly agree ; and yet 
how many matters of public interest are discussed by 
his eloquent pen ! How many-sided were his lessons, 
how often he referred to matters that had secular 
bearings, that were subjects of partisan discussion, 
and even to such as were connected with civil juris- 
diction ; and this sometimes not as theoretical teach- 
ing,- but as dealing with practical cases. In all, his 
great and sole object was to glorify Christ ; let this 
be our sole aim whenever we feel called to teach or 



70 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

to speak of matters that are connected with the Gov- 
ernment, or with party movements, or with secular 
interests. Then, as witnesses unto Christ, we may- 
hope that our testimony will accomplish its proper 
end and purpose. 

3. The disciples are to be witnesses unto Christ, in 
their making his Gospel known unto all men. The 
missionary aspect of their testimony is the one chiefly 
presented to us. Their testimony was to be evangel- 
istic. Evidently the first disciples, as soon as their 
minds were enlightened by the Holy Spirit, under- 
stood the matter just in this sense, and they went 
forth to deliver their testimony as a message of love 
and mercy to lost men. 

It was indeed a joyful testimony. Its primary 
meaning was undoubtedly glad tidings to all people. 
It was not meant to be chiefly a testimony against a 
sinful world. The verse in the Gospel of Matthew, 
ch. xxiv. 14, which speaks of the Gospel being preach- 
ed " for a witness " to the nations, does not mean a 
testimony against them, any more than the same 
word " witness " in Isaiah lv. 4, when applied to our 
blessed Lord, is to be understood as a title of sever- 
ity ; on the contrary, it is a title given to our Lord 
in one of the finest Gospel passages to be found in the 
writings of the evangelical prophet. If the Gospel 
is rejected by men, it does become a witness against 
them — hence greatly increasing their guilt and misery ; 
but we must keep in view its primary and chief de- 
sign, as the expression of the infinite love and mercy 
of God to our lost world. Here is pardon for the 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 71 

guilty ; here is peace with God ; here is everlasting 
life ; here is all that is needed for the complete salva- 
tion of every lost sinner, through the atoning death 
and the finished righteousness of Jesus Christ. Here 
are all these blessings offered to sinful men in 
every land to the end of the world, and offered on 
the simplest terms possible — without money and 
without price. This is the good news which the dis- 
ciples were to testify unto every creature, speaking 
from their own personal experience of this blessed 
Gospel, and with all fidelity as witnesses to its un- 
speakable importance. 

And so the disciples went forth. They went forth, 
no doubt, in faith and hope, expecting great results 
to follow their testimony. They were at first but a 
mere handful — but a little flock — and their course in 
the world was to be marked by tribulation and perse- 
cution. Our Lord taught them to expect this, but 
he also taught them to expect a time of triumph for 
the Gospel. Its principles would prevail, under their 
preaching made effectual to salvation by the power 
of the Holy Ghost, darkness would give way, the 
idols be overthrown, the kingdom of Christ be estab- 
lished, the world for a thousand years be as the gar- 
den of the Lord. The disciples went forth to a 
sacred duty, not as a task, not as sent to condemn their 
fellow-men, but cheered by the hope of the greatest 
success. They might not live to see it, but it would 
surely come, and their faithful labors would speed its 
coming. 

Some good men do not accept these views, — do not 



72 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

expect this result. They even venture to teach that 
it is but an amiable delusion to expect the conversion 
of the world by the preaching of the Gospel, that it 
was never intended to accomplish any such purpose ; 
but that the Church is always to be small, limited, 
and imperfect, until the personal coming of our 
blessed Lord ; and then, but not till then, we shall 
see the world converted. The whole New Testa- 
ment record has been appealed to, in order to prove 
that the preaching of the Gospel, in " the present 
dispensation," as they term it, will not convert the 
world. 

There are weighty, and apparently conclusive argu- 
ments against this theory, but they can not be fully 
considered here. It is a theory which seems to be 
based on erroneous interpretations of the Scriptures, 
in certain respects. These must be passed over. It 
is a theory, moreover, which does not agree with 
other parts of Scripture, which teach a very different 
doctrine. Such is the declaration of God's unspeak- 
able love to the world, John iii. 16, — confining our 
citations to the New Testament. This declaration is 
so comprehensive that we can not see how the em- 
bracing of Christ by a small fraction of the human 
family, can be regarded as at all corresponding with 
its fulness and freeness. Such also is our Lord's 
last commandment, Matt, xxviii. 19, 20. We can not 
believe that this commandment contemplates preach- 
ing the Gospel as a witness against men ; it was to 
be good news, the best news to every lost sinner that 
he can ever hear ; nor can we believe that our blessed 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 73 

Lord, clothed as he is with all power in heaven and 
in earth, would go forth everywhere with his disciples 
who obey this commandment, only to see their labors 
ending all in vain, and himself almost universally 
rejected. Moreover, we see the aged Simeon, Luke 
ii. 30-32, rejoicing in the predicted and now fulfilled 
salvation, " prepared before the face of all people, a 
light to lighten the Gentiles." We see John the 
Baptist proclaiming the fulfilment of a similar pre- 
diction, Luke iii. 4-6. We listen with mingled feel- 
ings of sorrow and hope to our blessed LorcPs words: 
"And I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto 
me," John xii. 32. We see the same truth in its 
earlier process of fulfilment, in the parables of the 
grain of mustard seed and the leaven hid in the meal, 
Matt. xiii. 31-33. We learn the same truth, in its 
manifested and regal glory, in the numerous texts 
which speak of the gracious effects of the Gospel, 
triumphing as a religion in its present administration, 
under the idea of a kingdom, for whose coming we 
are taught to pray, Matt. vi. 10. We are taught 
the same view by some of the wonderful things in 
the Book of Revelation — especially the binding of 
Satan for a thousand years. If we measure these by 
a common prophetic standard, we may look forward 
to a period of three hundred and sixty thousand 
years, during which our Lord's reign of righteousness 
in the hearts of men shall make this world a paradise, 
and nobly vindicate the power of the Gospel, as now 
preached among men, as the wisdom of God and the 
power of God unto salvation. These are New Testa- 
4 



74 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

ment teachings, which show that the preaching of 
the Gospel is no fruitless means of the conversion of 
the world ; but if the New Testament were silent on 
the subject, as it is nearly so on some other commonly 
received parts of Christian faith, we should still find 
ample warrant for our hopes of the conversion of the 
world in the numerous predictions of the Old Testa- 
ment. One such prophecy, out of scores that might 
be cited, " The earth shall be full of the knowledge 
of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," Isa. xi. 9, 
ought to'be deemed conclusive. 

There are two other considerations even more con- 
clusive — one positive, the other negative, and both 
clearly revealed. Positively, the work of conversion, 
as we have already seen, is the work of God, the Holy 
Ghost. We are living under the dispensation of the 
Spirit. Our Lord himself repeatedly referred to his 
agency in the work of conversion. We have unlim- 
ited promises of his intervention in answer to prayer. 
We need not pursue this consideration. Let the 
Church but honor the Spirit as the Father and the 
Son are honored ; let the people of God believe in 
him, seek his power, expect his presence, and who 
shall say that the greatest results shall not be speedily 
achieved ? And let every humble disciple beware of 
any theory of unfulfilled Scripture that would even 
seem to lessen or disparage the agency of the Spirit 
in the conversion of the world. 

The negative consideration is not less decisive — 
the personal coming of our blessed Lord is not re- 
vealed to us in Scripture as a means of the conver- 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 75 

sion of men. We humbly trust that our blessed 
Saviour's visible and personal appearing will be a 
joyful event to us, whenever he shall come ; but as 
we read the Scriptures, they furnish no proof at all 
that he is ever to take the work of conversion out of 
the hands of the Holy Ghost. Our Lord's coming 
is spoken of in three senses quite distinct, but all 
worthy of himself : (1), by his Providence, as when 
he came to destroy Jerusalem, Matt. xxiv. 34 ; and 
so he comes in the wonderful course of his Provi- 
dence to raise up and cast down kingdoms and na- 
tions, and to be ever with his own people, so that 
they often hear his voice saying, " Fear not, it is I " ; 
and in the hour of their departure from this life they 
find him present with them to give them all needed 
grace, and an abundant entrance into his everlasting 
kingdom. (2), He comes by his Spirit into the wor- 
shipping assemblies of his people ; even though but 
two or three of them meet together in his name, he 
will make the third or fourth, Matt, xviii. 20 ; and so 
he comes wherever the Spirit of grace is carrying on 
his peculiar and saving work among men. And (3) 
he will come visibly and personally, his second ap- 
pearing in visible and personal form, but it will be 
when he comes as a Judge, Matt. xxv. 31-46; 2 
Thess. ii. 7-10. The Shorter Catechism well ex- 
presses the sense of the Scriptures on this point, 
when it teaches that Christ will come " to judge the 
world at the last day." We look for no other coming 
of our blessed Lord than these. 

This, then, is the witnessing of the disciples unto 



76 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Christ. It is evangelizing testimony, to be brought 
to the mind and heart of every creature, and to be 
crowned at last with blessed and glorious results in 
the conversion of the world unto God. 

III. The remaining words of the verse show that 
the witnessing of the disciples unto Christ was to be 
everywhere — " in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in 
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth." 

The Saviour does not seem to recognize our mod- 
ern distinction of Home and Foreign Missions. 
There is a certain order marked ; the witnesses were 
to begin among those who were nearest to them, 
going from them to the next nearest, and proceeding 
onward still to those who dwelt in " the regions be- 
yond." This was in fact the course followed by the 
Apostles. It is evidently proper to begin with our 
own people in witnessing unto Christ, but we must 
beware of restricting our efforts to them. The 
Gospel is for all men. The Apostles and first Chris- 
tians so understood the matter, and when, at first, the 
disciples were staying too long in Jerusalem, perhaps 
consulting too much their love of home and of the 
temple, a persecution was allowed to arise, and they 
were scattered abroad, and went everywhere preach- 
ing the Word, even far beyond the boundaries of 
their native country, though its inhabitants had by 
no means all become Christians. So it was also at 
Antioch, when the Gospel obtained a foothold there, 
and a church was formed ; some of its leading mem- 
bers and ministers were soon sent forth as missionaries, 
by divine direction and by the earnest co-operation of 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 77 

the Church, though the people of Antioch and of 
that province were not then all converted. We need 
not multiply examples to show how the first disciples 
understood the extent to which their testimony 
should be made known. They took their lives in 
their hand, and went forth to whatever part of the 
world they could reach. We read of their labors in 
Africa, in Europe, in Western Asia, and even in the 
eastern parts of Asia traces of their presence are found. 
We feel sure from the language of the text and 
from the example of the disciples in the apostolic 
age, that no Christian Church, nor any member of the 
Church, much less any office-bearer in it, can claim 
to have fulfilled his duty to Christ in witnessing unto 
him, who does not keep earnestly before his mind 
and on his heart- the vast range of his calling. The 
presence of Christ will be granted only to the Church 
that is seeking to bear witness unto him unto the 
uttermost part of the earth. We believe that bless- 
ing has rested signally on our Church since the time 
when we entered as a Church on the work of sending 
the Gospel abroad. Our foreign missions have been 
greatly prospered. Churches and Presbyteries are 
now planted in Africa, Asia, South America, and 
among some of our Indian tribes. Native commu- 
nicants, native elders, native ministers, in many for- 
eign parts, now worship God with us in our simple 
and beautiful order. The work is going on ; it is 
calling for enlargement ; it must be extended. And 
it surely will be, as we come more and more into the 
spirit of primitive piety. 



78 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

As we turn and survey our Church here at home, 
we see no signs of its being impoverished or weak- 
ened by its witnessing work abroad. We do see 
things that awaken our solicitude — dangers of divided 
opinions, and especially the danger of being carried 
away by tides of worldliness ; but God has kept us 
and blest us hitherto. All through the terrible events 
of the last few years we have had grace given to us 
and the blessing of Providence, so that we have not 
fallen away from our noble missionary work abroad ; 
that work has been like the bow of promise — span- 
ning the dark sky, and pointing to brighter days when 
peace should return to bless the land, in order that 
the Church might go on to bless the world. What- 
ever may have been our past dangers, whatever our 
present difficulties, they would have been far greater, 
perhaps even fatal to our churches, if God had not 
given us grace to bear our evangelistic testimony to 
our countrymen everywhere, and to the Indians, the 
Hindus, the Siamese, the Chinese, and others, there- 
by securing the fulfilment of our Saviour's promise 
to us, and thereby enabling many of our Christian 
people to feel more deeply the worth of the Gospel 
to themselves. As we continue our survey, we see 
signs of widely-spread prosperity in the home inter- 
ests of our Church, in our greatly enlarged number 
of ministers and members since the year 1832, when 
the foreign missions of our body were commenced ; 
but on these and other things we can not enter. We 
bless the Lord for what he hath done for us and by 
us. We gratefully ascribe all our prosperity, at home 



PO TVER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 79 

and abroad, and all our success, to the presence of 
our blessed Lord with us, as we have endeavored to 
be witnesses unto him both in our own country and 
in foreign lands, even unto the uttermost part of the 
earth. Here, then, we rest in our exposition of this 
verse, and conclude with two or three inferences. 

1. We see that the duty of Christian witnessing is 
from God. It is unto Christ, by his last instructions 
and by his last commandment. It is inspired and 
made efficacious by the Holy Ghost. In bearing 
their testimony, the disciples have a divine warrant 
— they run not unsent ; and they may feel assured, 
therefore, that their witnessing shall not be in vain. 
Whether many or few receive their testimony, they 
shall receive a divine reward. Let them seek to be 
found faithful witnesses, never shunning to declare 
the whole counsel of God, ever setting the Lord him- 
self before them, giving their testimony from love to 
him, cherishing a sense of their dependence on the 
Holy Ghost, and 4hen they shall be blessed them- 
selves and a blessing to the world. 

2. We see the main elements of success in apos- 
tolic evangelization. . Its agents were men impelled 
by love to Christ and empowered by the Holy Ghost. 
Their minds were enlightened, their hearts filled with 
holy affections, their labors abundant beyond measure 
— all because they were under divine influence. Their 
views of their work were clear and well denned ; they 
knew precisely what they were to do ; they engaged 
in it at no uncertainty. A noble purpose of conse- 
cration to God governed their whole course. As we 



8o MISSIONAR Y PA PERS. 

fix our attention on the life of one of those early dis- 
ciples — and it matters little which of them — as we 
consider his faith in Christ, his self-renunciation, his 
unworldly spirit, his willingness to endure hardness 
and to practice self-denial, his devotedness to the 
great object of saving lost souls and thereby glorify- 
ing God, his perseverance in seeking this object in 
the face of reproach, opposition, persecution, violence, 
and death — even death in the most terrible form— we 
are filled with admiration of his holy life and his 
blessed labors. With such a consecration of heart 
and life, and with the power of the Holy Ghost, at 
once its spring and its blessing, we do not wonder to 
see Stephen martyred, and the cause advanced which 
his death was intended to destroy. We do not won- 
der to see the brilliant course of Paul, his abundant 
labors, his unceasing prayers, his unwearied zeal flam- 
ing to the last. We do not wonder then to hear his 
noble testimony : " For I am now ready to be offered, 
and the time of my departure is at hand. I have 
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me a 
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous 
Judge, shall give to me at that day ; and not to me 
only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 
These were the missionaries, these were the ministers, 
of the primitive Church. We readily see the secret 
of their wonderful success. They walked with God, 
and God was with them, and therefore the Gospel 
won triumphs in the world such as no subsequent age 
has witnessed ; yes, and we may say such as the 



POWER OF CHRISTIAN WITNESSES. 8r 

world will not witness again until our ministers and 
missionaries become men of apostolic piety. 

3. We see what is most needed by us as a Church, 
as a body of Christian people — ministers, elders, dea- 
cons, and members. It is not purer doctrines : our 
faith is of God. It is not a better order : our Church 
is at once scriptural, catholic, beautiful in its worship, 
and admirable in its government. It is not, perhaps, 
better plans of promoting the work of evangelization ; 
.... it is not in any of these things that we feel our 
greatest need ; it is the want of apostolic piety ; it 
is the want of the power of the Holy Ghost. 

Men commonly depend on talent, learning, wealth, 
station ; we undervalue none of these gifts ; God has 
ever used them all. But he also uses the weak things 
of the world to confound the mighty. And God will 
so order events that the glory of the world's salva- 
tion shall be seen to be of himself and not of men. 
He will employ great gifts, but he will also employ 
humble gifts. And if God the Holy Spirit be with 
" little men," they will work wonders — especially will 
such men as are little in their own esteem. The gift 
most important, most to be desired by us all, is the 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Let his power be so 
manifest in us, so govern our lives, so animate our 
prayers, as to make us Christ-like ; let his gracious 
power so control us as to consume our worldly aims, 
our unworthy desires of comfort, our undue regard 
for -the praise of men, and at the same time to raise 
our conceptions of divine and eternal things, filling 
our hearts with the love of God, and giving us deep 
4* 



82 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

impressions of the power of the world to come, and 
then shall our course be in some measure like that of 
the first Christians. The little company that saw our 
Lord ascend into heaven were soon clothed with 
power, and then went forth and made their power 
felt throughout the world. We serve the same Sav- 
iour; we have the unlimited promise of the same 
Almighty Spirit ; the same work is set before us as 
before them ; the world stands open to-day, as it did 
eighteen hundred years ago, still waiting for mission- 
aries. Let the Spirit of God baptize our ministers, 
elders, and communicants, and how soon would our 
Church go forth like the Church of Jerusalem or the 
Church of Antioch, to bless the world ! 



XX. 

FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES NOT TO BE OVER- 
LOOKED. 

In a favorable notice of a book on missions, one 
of our exchanges makes this remark : " Comparatively 
little is said in the work upon the generally accepted 
fundamental principles upon which the great work of 
missions rests." We need not consider how far this 
remark is applicable to the book, but we fear it is 
far too applicable to many of the addresses and 
articles on missions by which an interest in the cause 
is sought to be promoted. Bright, sensational re- 
marks, something interesting, and if it be romantic 



FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES. 83 

all the better, something to make people laugh or 
cry — well, we do not object to these things in their 
time and place, though for sensationalism we have 
little respect, especially in grave spiritual interests. 
But while we prize "popular" appeals for missions, 
we should not overlook first principles. The nature 
and ground of Christian duty towards the heathen ; 
the condition of men without the Gospel, especially 
in view of the eternal world ; the proper means to be 
employed for their evangelization, and the best meth- 
ods of securing the use of these means, and as con- 
nected therewith, the province of the Church at 
home and in the field in the support and direction of 
the work of missions ; the reasons of encouragement 
and the measure of success ; these and other sub- 
jects need to be well understood by our Christian 
people. Once understood and " accepted," these 
fundamental principles will lead to steady, earnest 
action, continued as long as life lasts, and according 
to what God gives. It is on such action the cause 
of missions must depend, not on special efforts, not 
on impulsive movements, not on temporary expe- 
dients. 



84 MISSIONAR Y PA PERS. 

XXI. 

ROMANS xv. 20. 

Rom. xv. 20. "Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not 
where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's 
foundation." Compare 2 Cor. x. 15, 16. 

The meaning of this passage is plain : the apostle 
had aimed at being the first to preach the Gospel 
among those who had not heard it. He wished to 
lay the foundation himself. Why? 

It was not surely from any vain, selfish, or ambi- 
tious feelings ; the character of the apostle, and the 
influence which directed him, forbid any supposition 
of that kind. He was no evangelical hero, living for 
his own praise, or to acquire a name among the 
churches. 

Nor was it because he had not talents to fulfil with 
acceptance the duties of any station, even in any 
city ; his writings and the esteem with which he was 
regarded utterly discountenance this notion. There 
are diversities of gifts adapted to different situations 
in the Church ; but we should recollect that different 
stations among those where Christ has not been 
named, require different talents, affording employ- 
ment for the most gifted, and yet not discouraging 
him that has one talent committed to his care. 

Nor was it, again, because this apostle had received 
a special commission to the Gentiles ; there were 
other Apostles among the Gentiles as well as Paul 



ROMANS XV. 20. 85 

and he might have labored in the fields first entered 
by them ; or he might have remained in some of the 
places where his labors had been attended with suc- 
cess, but where there was much still to do ; where 
the people were affectionate, and where his situation 
would have been comfortable. None of these con- 
siderations, therefore, explain the course pursued by 
the apostle. 

But probably he found a sweeter recompense in 
declaring the riches of the Gospel to those dying in 
utter ignorance, than to those who, though equally 
dying, were yet dying in Gospel light : just as a be- 
nevolent man finds greater satisfaction in giving food 
to the starving, who have no help, than to others 
starving also, and yet rejecting the offered food. 

We may suppose, again, that his bowels yearned 
towards those among whom " Christ was not named " ; 
where the foundation was not laid ; where there was 
no knowledge of the only " name given under heaven 
and amongst men" whereby there could be salva- 
tion. He pitied them, and his was not the frozen 
charity which says, " depart in peace, be ye warmed 
and filled," and yet makes no effort to extend relief. 
No ; he was anxious that all men should hear of 
Christ ; should be called by his name ; and should 
build their hopes on him for eternity. See his life 
and writings, as recorded in the New Testament, for 
proof. 

But once more : He had no doubt reference to the 
commandment to " preach the Gospel to every creat- 
ure," which would never be obeyed if all were to 



86 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

preach the Gospel only where " things were made 
ready to their hands/' while there were so many 
places "where Christ was not" even " named." The 
apostle had too much respect for the authority of his 
Lord, and too much regard for the honor of his 
Saviour, to neglect or disobey any of his command- 
ments, and much less one which was so essentially 
connected with the temporal and the eternal well- 
being of millions of his fellow-men. 

From this subject we may infer, I. The necessity 
of pure motives on the part of those who go to 
" preach the gospel where Christ has not been 
named." No supposition ascribes any improper mo- 
tives to the apostle, and every preacher to the Gen- 
tiles, at the present day, is under equal obligation to 
be upright, and to have a conscience void of offence, 
not only in the sight of men, but of God. At the 
same time, it must be acknowledged that the danger 
on this score is greater now than in the days of the 
apostle. There are not now the fires of persecution 
to purify ; but there is, to some extent, the voice of 
praise bestowed in advance, which is well adapted to 
ensnare. This difference only points out the neces- 
sity of a close inspection of motives in the sight of 
Heaven, by those who would engage in missionary 
labors. 

2. If the same spirit animated Christian ministers 
now which glowed in the bosom of the apostle, there 
would not be so many places where the foundation 
is not yet laid. This inference is fully justified, also, 
by a simple survey of Paul's labors. These can not 



PRO VERBS XL 24. 87 

be detailed here ; but the examination of them will 
amply repay the time spent in making it. 

3. As the converse of the last, there would not be 
so many who are preaching the Gospel where Christ 
has been named. If the 8,000 American clergymen 
[in 1834] had the same zeal that Paul displayed, how 
soon would the Gospel be proclaimed where Christ is 
now unknown, and, of course, where he is not regard- 
ed ? On the last two inferences it is not proposed to 
enlarge ; but one question may be worthy of consid- 
eration — What reason can be given for any Christian's 
being destitute of the same spirit which the apostle 
displayed in this passage of Scripture? This inquiry 
deserves attention from every one, whatever be his 
station or his prospective station in the church. It is 
true, all may not be able to display the same dispo- 
sition in the same way ; but if the disposition is found, 
Providence will soon open some way in which it may 
be effective. Many there are, however, who might 
manifest the same spirit which Paul felt, by literally 
imitating his example ; by preaching " the Gospel not 
where Christ is named. " 



XXII. 

PROVERBS xi. 24. 

"There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth ; and there is that 
withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty." 

A FEW years ago one of the Baptist newspapers 
contained an instructive narrative, which illustrated 



88 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

these words of truth. Two churches were organized 
about the same period, in the same district, of nearly 
equal numbers and pecuniary means, and both with 
good prospects of growth. Their young and vigor- 
ous pastors adopted different views on the subject of 
church collections. One encouraged his people to 
give liberally to the usual denominational objects, 
though they were not yet able to defray all of their 
own church expenses. The other discouraged collec- 
tions for all outside objects, until his people could fully 
support their own church. So they began, and so 
they continued, until at the end of five years the for- 
mer church was strong and prosperous, while the lat- 
ter was almost dead. 

This narrative, which seemed to be truthful and 
not exaggerated, made quite an impression on the 
mind of the present writer. And now he would add 
to it another case, with which he was personally 
somewhat acquainted. In one of our cities, some- 
years ago, we had a church in a good position, hav- 
ing a young pastor of more than ordinary ability as 
to natural and acquired talents, and especially as a 
preacher ; but its house of worship was a very plain 
building, while other churches in the same city were 
handsome, and some of them costly edifices. The 
growth of the church to which we specially refer was 
not remarkable, but not particularly discouraging ; 
certainly, it did not satisfy the pastor, and the 
elders agreed with him in his views. What was 
needed for success, in their judgment, was a fine 
church building. The congregation was not able to 



PRO VERBS XL 24. 89 

erect an edifice of this kind, it was supposed, unless 
they should concentrate all their energies on this 
object during as long a period as might be necessary; 
and this course was resolved upon. All collec- 
tions for objects not connected with the congrega- 
tion, as, for instance, for any of the Church Boards, 
were to be refused until the fine church was built. 
This course was decided on by the church session ; 
if not adopted at the instance of the pastor, it was 
sustained by him, though with feelings of regret. 
What was the result ? The plan did not meet with 
the expected success ; after a while the minister re- 
signed ; another minister was called ; but the fine new 
edifice was never built, and the church was eventually 
merged in another congregation. 

Other examples, differing in circumstances, but 
teaching a similar lesson, might be given. On the 
other hand, have we ever known a church that was 
weakened and its growth hindered by what its mem- 
bers contributed to the cause of Christ beyond their 
own congregational boundaries ? After more than 
forty years' observation in the ministry, the answer 
is, No, not one ! 



XXIII. 

THE DENOMINATIONAL ELEMENT IN MISSIONS. 

" I DID not come out here to build up Denomina- 
tionalism." We quote the words of one of our mis- 



go MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

sionaries in the East, arguing in favor of a " union " 
organization of the only church yet constituted in 
his field of labor, so that it may serve as an example 
to other churches hereafter to be formed in the same 
country. As a union church it would now, he thinks, 
secure the favor of missionaries of three denomina- 
tions of Christians, and so avoid the appearance of 
divisions among Protestants, contrasting, it is alleged, 
unfavorably with the unity of Roman Catholics. 

On the same general idea, considerable opposition 
has been made to the Church Boards sending mis- 
sionaries into a neighboring Roman Catholic country. 
"Let us not exhibit our divided Protestantism be- 
fore united Romanism. Let our sectarian differences 
be excluded, and only a non-denominational form of 
our holy religion be presented." In both cases, much 
is made of the idea, that our denominational mis- 
sionary work will lead the people to think that Chris- 
tians are not themselves agreed concerning their own 
religion, and therefore their efforts to spread the 
Gospel in Roman Catholic and Pagan countries must 
be made at a great disadvantage. We are aiming to 
give a fair and strong statement of this " non-denom- 
inational" plea. 

Several things may be considered in reply. 

I. If non-denominational missionary effort abroad 
is best, we see not why it is not best at home ; yet 
we apprehend that few persons here think so. Past 
experience does not so teach. Until Christians agree 
in these matters at home, we see not how missionaries 
can wisely adopt " union " church organizations 



THE DENOMINA TIONAL ELEMENT. 91 

abroad ; they must, for obvious reasons, represent 
the churches that send them out and support them. 

2. We can not grant that it is inexpedient for the 
Church to be divided into denominations. We ad- 
mit the occurrence of certain evils too often, but the 
abuse or misuse of a thing is not an argument against 
its use. Neither is external unity a safeguard from 
many and great evils ; we may recur to this point 
further on. Here, we only suggest that true Chris- 
tian union, such as our Saviour taught us to pray for, 
finds its place chiefly in the hearts of his people, 
leading them to love all who love him, who hold his 
truth, and who keep his commandments. There is 
the idea of bearing witness to the truth as it is in 
Jesus, that is essential to the Church. And when, 
under the teaching and power of the Holy Spirit, 
Christians hold the same views of truth as to doc- 
trine and church order, then they will be ready for 
organic union. In the meantime, peace and useful- 
ness are best promoted by their " agreeing to differ." 

3. Granting that there are evils or tendencies to 
evil in our missionary plans as connected with de- 
nominations, these should not be exaggerated. Of 
course,, no missionary is sent out " to build up de- 
nominationalism " ; he is sent out to preach the Gos- 
pel. Yet his first sermon may present views in which 
some good missionaries would not concur ; both he 
and they might be much embarrassed thereby in 
their work, if they belonged to the same church or- 
ganization. When God is pleased to bless his labors, 
and he has the joy of baptizing the first convert, and 



92 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

afterwards, when he and his brethren have the priv- 
ilege of ordaining the first native minister, he must 
face practical denominational questions ; but they 
need give him little trouble. He can meet them on 
the same ground which is taken by the church at 
home, whose representative he is, and whose faith 
he holds ; but he will also meet them in the spirit of 
the great apostle, who gloried most in preaching the 
Gospel, not in baptizing converts. The result is to 
keep minor questions of church order in their proper 
place. The true missionary will not be a partisan ; 
he will honor the gifts and graces of his brethren of 
other churches ; he will ever help them, and never 
hinder them in their work for Christ. 

4. As these tendencies to evil are held in check 
amongst missionaries, so, on the other hand, among 
Romanists, or among the heathen, the people soon 
learn to see that Protestant Christians do love one 
another, that they do agree in most things, that their 
differences relate to minor matters ; in fact, that they 
all acknowledge the same Lord and Saviour. 

5. We have admitted certain tendencies to evil, 
undue pressing of the mode of baptism or of the 
form of ordination, as examples, the want of concert, 
the varying views of methods of missionary educa- 
tion, etc. ; but there is another side of the case. It 
may easily prove true, that this diversity itself may 
be in many cases an element of strength. It secures 
a wider range and leads to a greater degree of effort ; 
it promotes an early revision of mistaken counsels ; 
it may lead to a better established Christianity 



THE DENOMINATIONAL ELEMENT, 03 

amongst the people than if the missionaries of only 
one denomination were to occupy each country. We 
cite in proof of some of these particulars, the his- 
tory of our missions in Upper India. That part of. 
India was chosen by our first missionaries as their 
field of labor, largely because it was unoccupied by 
missionaries of other churches ; and for many years 
it was in the charge of our Church almost as exclu- 
sively as Burmah has been in the charge of our Bap- 
tist brethren. In later years English Episcopal and 
American Methodist missionaries, and some others, 
were led to enter on the work of missions in Upper 
India. As the result of all, we see a much larger 
force of laborers on the ground than we should see 
if the work had remained solely in our charge ; we 
see more done for the salvation of souls ; we see cer- 
tain inter-missionary influences there, resulting in 
better methods of work ; and we see , reflex in- 
fluences reaching large numbers of Christian people 
in Europe and our own country. We doubt not 
it is better for the cause of Christ in India, that 
our Christian brethren of other denominations are 
our fellow-laborers there ; and both they and we are 
under the best bonds to " keep the peace," to dwell 
together in unity. Our conviction is strong, more- 
over, that it would have been better for Burmah, if 
several leading denominations of Christians had been 
conducting missions in that country, instead of only 
one.- We need hardly add, such is al^o our convic- 
tion as to the evangelization of Mexico. 

6. What is the remedy of evils, or tendencies to 



94 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

evil, resulting from denominational work in missions ? 
Not external unity. The Roman Church has that, 
and yet how notorious and how bitter have been the 
'dissensions of the different orders of the Romanist 
missionaries. These internecine contentions are be- 
lieved to have had much to do with the persecution 
and expulsion of the Roman Catholic priests from 
China and Japan. Such contentions, we trust, are 
not possible among Protestants ; but to whatever 
degree they may prevail, it will be found that it is 
chiefly amongst the more formal and ritualistic of 
their number — those who make most of external 
order and uniformity, as in the unhappy example of 
some agents of the English Gospel Propagation So- 
ciety. It is not external unity on which we rely, 
therefore, nor the united organic action of different 
denominations ; but it is our having in us the same 
mind that was in Christ Jesus ; it is our simply do- 
ing as we would be done by in all our missionary 
plans and labors. This will prevent most of tjie 
evils apprehended from denominational action in the 
work of missions, and it will secure the best kind of 
brotherly co-operation, as far as needful. 

Inspired by this spirit, ever mindful of this good 
rule, our missionaries of different names will go for- 
ward side by side in the work of the Lord, and our 
home churches will engage in this great work as 
churches, not as societies, each standing in its own 
lot, holding its own faith and order as best, until 
better taught by the Spirit of truth ; never indif- 
ferent to what it believes to be true, but yet recog- 



REASONS OF "CHURCH" WORK. 95 

nizing the Christian character of other churches, 
.and honoring their missionary labors. This is the 
true theory, as we humbly think, of denominational 
missions. The unevangelized world — heathen, Mo- 
hammedan, and Papal — has much to hope, and little 
to fear from their progress. And our friends, whether 
here at home or on missionary ground, need not be 
solicitous to avoid " denominationalism." Denomi- 
national or church action in missions, springing 
from love to Christ and his truth, will do more for 
the spread of the Gospel in the world than any other 
form of united Christian effort that has ever been 
devised. It will do this, because it is simply the 
Church of Christ- on earth acting in its missionary 
character. So acting the Church will be blessed with 
the presence of her Lord, and great will be her suc- 
cess in his work. 



XXIV. 



REASONS OF "CHURCH" WORK IN MISSIONS. 

Some remarks were made in the preceding paper 
on " the Denominational Element in Missions." They 
presented views chiefly intended to obviate objections 
to the " church " theory. In favor of this theory 
there are strong positive reasons, some of which we 
now briefly state— our space not permitting any full 
statement. 

In favor of conducting the work of missions 03' the 
Church, and not by Societies, we refer — 



96 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

1. To our Lord's last commandment, " Go ye into 
all the world." In its terms, which embrace one of 
the great functions of the organized church, that of 
teaching, and also one of the two sacraments, we re- 
gard this commandment as having a direct application 
to the church itself, as a regularly constituted body, 
including its office-bearers and members. We know 
the reply to this which is made by those whose defi- 
nition of the " church " is different from that of our 
standards ; but on the one side we cite the authorita- 
tive Council held in Jerusalem, and on the other side 
we refer to the several " bishops " of the churches 
in the small city of Ephesus, as favoring our church 
views not only, but also as showing that essential 
methods and fruits of Apostolic missionary work 
were similiar to our own, if not identical. We might 
cite also the example of the church of Antioch — Acts 
xiii. 1-3 ; xiv. 26, 27. Would that we were moved 
by a like Apostolic spirit ! Without dwelling on this 
commandment, we state it as a corner-stone in the 
edifice of church work. Certainly we read in the 
Acts of the Apostles of no " Societies," Union or 
other, for spreading the Gospel. 

2. It is a great question in the work of missions, 
how best to reach and interest in its behalf all the 
members of the Church — young and old, rich and 
poor. We think this can best be done by church 
action — each Christian denomination moving in the 
matter according to its own order. We do not dis- 
parage the Societies in this respect ; their supporters 
as volunteers are often first on the ground, and do 



REASONS OF "CHURCH" WORK. 97 

great good. But for training the children, and for 
enlisting all classes of people, we rely most on the ap- 
pointed means of grace, in each congregation, under 
the supervision of the church courts. This church 
action is all-embracing and enduring. It may claim 
the fulfilment in direct terms of our Saviour's blessed 
promise. 

3. It is also a question of practical moment how to 
conduct what may be called the administrative part 
of the work of missions in the best way ; — how to 
procure the funds needed, not as moneys assessed, 
but as free-will offerings, the fruits of grace, and with 
least expense in their collection ; — how to combine 
needful supervision with proper personal freedom of 
action ; — how to secure a certain central or home 
direction with full local choice and energy in many 
foreign fields ; — how to do all this under the guidance 
of principles held in common by the laborers at home 
and abroad, and also under the sanctions of law read- 
ily available, if need be ; — how best to guard against 
divisions and personal difficulties. All this, as we 
think, is best secured by our theory. We do not 
claim perfection, by any means, in the practical work- 
ing of this theory ; we see some defects ; we see 
some things to be better arranged ; but, on the whole, 
we do see great and distinctive advantages in having 
our missionary administration closely connected with 
the Church, as a part of its organized work and under 
its full control. 

4. It is an obvious duty to make a wise use of the 
pecuniary offerings of the people of God to the 

5 



98 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

cause of missions in their expenditure, both in the 
department of home administration and in the work 
abroad. Dangers abound here. The executive ex- 
penses at home may be far too expensive ; and even 
where the home service is gratuitous, ill-judged meas- 
ures abroad may involve wasteful outlays. In this 
respect, we think our theory works well, compara- 
tively ; and if it does not work satisfactorily, its de- 
fects or its abuses can be readily corrected. 

But we forbear to enlarge. After all, we would not 
make too much of external church movement in the 
work of missions, though we think it is of practical 
importance. We would magnify, most of all, the 
great idea of having this church movement made 
Christ-like, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit 
in the hearts of all our people. Then the Church 
will arise and shine. Then the Gentiles shall come to 
her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising. 



MONTHL Y C ONCER T ' ' MEE TING. 99 



XXV. 

" MONTHLY CONCERT " MEETING OF PRAYER. 

"We must go farther still, however, to reach the spring-head — 
the primary cause of the missionary excitement in Carey's mind, 
and its diffusion among the Northamptonshire ministers. At the 
meeting of the association in 1784, at Nottingham, it was resolved 
to set apart an hour on the first Monday evening of every month, 
1 for extraordinary prayer for the revival of religion, and for the 
extending of Christ's kingdom in the world.' This suggestion pro- 
ceeded from the venerable Sutcliff. Its simplicity and appropriate- 
ness have since recommended it to universal adoption ; and copious 
showers of blessings from on high have been poured forth upon 
the churches." — History of the Baptist Missionary Society (English), 
by Rev. F. A. Cox, D.D. 

SUCH was the origin of the Monthly Concert Meet- 
ing of Prayer. And no more striking example could 
be given of its happy influence, than we observe in 
the case of Carey. And thus it led to the establish- 
ment of the Baptist Missions in the densely inhabited 
province of Bengal ; to the translation and printing of 
the Sacred Scriptures in the numerous languages of 
India ; to the preaching of the Gospel by many faith- 
ful ministers, and the hopeful conversion of many 
heathens to God ; to that system of efforts which is 
still in progress, and which God is doubtless employ- 
ing as a part of the instrumentality by which his 
Church shall be established and exalted among the 
Hindus. Who can say that the observance of this 
meeting in any of our congregations, even in the 
most retired and unnoticed district of the country, 
may not lead to results of great importance ? 



ioo MISSION AR V PAPERS. 

Observe the principal object of this meeting — 
prayer for the spread of religion. The prayer of a 
righteous man or woman, for things agreeable to the 
will of God, is doubtless one of the mightiest agencies 
within the reach of mortals. Its power can not be 
comprehended. It is in outward form nothing but a 
breath of air ; but in its inner and real meaning, it is 
the desire of the soul expressed to God ; and as the 
means which he has appointed for obtaining his bless- 
ing, it produces results which all the combinations 
of human and Satanic power can not withstand. 
" The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man 
availeth much," — how much the inspired writer does 
not undertake to describe, though he proceeds to give 
a striking illustration of its efficacy. Thus of the 
prayer of one person ; social or united prayer has a 
special promise to encourage Christians to engage in 
it, Matthew xviii. 20. There is a remarkable ex- 
ample recorded of its connection with the first out- 
pouring of the Holy Spirit, and the subsequent con- 
version of large multitudes of people in the course 
of a few hours, Acts i. 13, 14; ii. 1-11, 41. We 
live in the times of the Holy Spirit. We are author- 
ized to expect a large outpouring of his influences 
upon all flesh, Joel ii. 28. These influences, as we 
believe, are all that is required in order to make the 
preaching of the Gospel effectual unto salvation. 
These influences poured out upon our missionaries and 
the heathen around them, would speedily renew the re- 
sults, if not the actual scenes, of the day of Pentecost. 
These influences we can obtain by -fervent, united 



" MONTHL Y CONCER T" MEETING. 101 

prayer. The monthly concert prayer-meeting gives 
us the opportunity. And as the spread of religion in 
the world is the great object of the service, it seems 
to be evident that this meeting of prayer should be 
maintained until the world is converted. 

If the meeting be not an interesting one, the reason 
will probably be that those who attend it, if not also 
those who take part in its services, go to the place of 
prayer with unprepared hearts. It is probably true 
that the services of this meeting are oftentimes un- 
happily conducted. The minister has allowed him- 
self to neglect preparation until it is too late to pre- 
pare ; and there are few men who can make any 
stated service amongst the same people edifying, 
when they trust to such " chance thoughts " as may 
come to their help while the service is in progress, 
and especially if they have " trusted to the occasion " 
for suitable thoughts fifty times before. Persons, also, 
who are requested to offer prayers in the name of 
their brethren, not unfrequently manifest a singular 
forgetfulness of the object of the meeting ; prayers 
are sometimes made for almost every other good ob- 
ject besides the one which has brought the people 
together ; and it occasionally happens that the same 
routine of subjects and even of phrases is gone over 
for the second, if not the third time, during the same 
brief service. 

Now the remedy for these evils is two-fold — first, 
that there be an intelligent sense of the object or 
purpose for which this prayer-meeting is held ; it is to 
call on the all-powerful, all-gracious God to spread his 



io2 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

blessed religion amongst men, and especially amongst 
the heathen and other anti-Christian nations ; and 
second, that there be a serious and careful prepara- 
tion made beforehand for this service — a preparation 
which shall have immediate reference to the duties 
devolving on each person respectively, whether of 
conducting the service, offering prayers in the name 
of the meeting, or only uniting in the prayers pre- 
sented by other persons. 



XXVI. 

GRACE, NOT RACE, IN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 

We are becoming accustomed to hear the Anglo- 
Saxon race lauded as the main agency in the spread 
of the Gospel. Its energy and enterprise are ex- 
pected to furnish the missionaries and the means of 
their support. By this race is meant the English- 
speaking people, chiefly found in Great Britain and 
the United States. This boasting of their missionary 
zeal is ill-sustained by comparing their work with that 
of Christian brethren on the Continent. The sup- 
porters of the Basle, the Rhenish, and other Euro- 
pean societies, in proportion to their numbers and 
their pecuniary ability, do not suffer by comparison 
with their English and American friends, while the 
little Moravian Church stands unequalled. Where 
can better missionaries be found than are many of 
those who have been sent out by these societies ? 



GRACE, NO T RACE, IN CHRISTIAN MISSIONS. 103 

And to what source of supply in the future may we 
look with better hope than to the piety of the 
Churches in these European countries, when they are 
set free from the blight of rationalism ? 

If we look only at the Anglo-Saxon race, then we 
must remember that it has two phases. Its energy 
and enterprise have been signally displayed in doing 
evil, perhaps even more than in doing good. Witness 
many things in the history of India, the two invasions 
of Afghanistan, the opium war with China, the many 
broken treaties with the American Indians, and the 
numberless aggressions and injuries inflicted on these 
Indians, who, as a race, are equal in native qualities, 
if not superior, to the Anglo-Saxon tribes before their 
conversion to Christianity. Witness, also, the demor- 
alization of native tribes caused by English and 
American commerce, in many instances, through in- 
toxicating liquors and ill treatment of native women. 
We are grateful indeed for English-speaking missions 
and missionaries, but we are humble when we think 
of the great evils that have marked the history of our 
countrymen, and of our kindred people across the 
sea. 

To reach correct views of Race as a factor in mis- 
sions, we must keep in mind that a race is made up 
of individuals, and all its people are descended from 
fallen parentage, partake of a depraved nature, and 
tend only to what is evil — unless changed, renewed, 
and ennobled by divine power. It is the open Bible 
as the Word of God, and it is the Spirit of God, that 
must qualify any race to be useful in the world ; in- 



104 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

deed, that must preserve every race from decay, de- 
moralization, and destruction. There is nothing in 
hereditary blood and energy to save it from the sad 
history that has been written of many nations. In a 
word, it is not Race, but Grace, that is to bless the 
world in Christian missions. And divine grace may 
eventually lift up ignorant and debased races in 
Africa or Asia to the standing now occupied by peo- 
ple who must trace their ancestry to the worshippers 
of Woden. Let us grant that energy is a great 
talent, in nations or in individuals, yet, as we have 
seen, its exercise may be injurious as well as beneficial. 
Saul unconverted went forth breathing threatening 
and slaughter, but as converted and an humble fol- 
lower of Christ, Paul was an unequalled man of bless- 
ing to Jews and Gentiles. So if the Anglo-Saxon 
race, or any other race, become ennobled by Chris- 
tian principles, its life and work in the world will be 
the means of great good to the people of all lands. 



XXVII. 

LESS FAVORED RACES. 

No considerations of race, of intelligence, of con- 
ventional culture, are of much account in our mis- 
sionary views. The reader of such a book as " Four 
Years in Ashantee," by a Swiss missionary, which has 
been lately published, will be distressed by the terri- 
ble accounts of degradation and bloodshed which he 
describes. These Ashantees are not polished, inter- 



LESS FA VORED RACES. 105 

esting people, such as many account the inmates of 
Hindu zenanas, or many of the Japanese, the Brah- 
mans, or the Mandarins. Alas ! for the poor Ashantee 
women ! And the best men of the kingdom are re- 
pulsive savages in many respects. But they are not 
beyond the reach of the grace of God. And that 
grace may be as signally displayed in the lifting up of a 
downtrodden race as in the conversion of Brahmans 
or Madarins, perhaps in a far more signal manner. So, 
too, of declining, expiring tribes, such as we are told 
our American Indians are ; a book has been printed, 
and by a Presbyterian minister, too — not of our coun- 
try, — to show, among other things, that Missionary 
Boards make a great mistake in spending their funds 
on tribes that are " dying out." But is not this a 
wrong way to put the case ? If they are not to con- 
tinue, but must pass away, the more do they need 
speedily to receive the knowledge of eternal life. As 
to passing by the degraded, ignorant, and uncivilized 
races, in order to reach those who are in some degree 
intelligent, polite, and civilized — well, we do not so 
understand our Lord's commandment. This respects 
" every creature," civilized or savage. Neither do we 
so understand the example of the first Christians. 
The Apostle Peter might have made a splendid argu- 
ment for the Hebrews as the main people to be first 
evangelized, pointing to their wonderful history, their 
unrivalled geographical position, their intellectual 
force, their widely-spread settlements in other coun- 
tries ; so the Apostle Paul might have spent a part of 
his unequalled eloquence in a plea for the Greeks as 
5* 



106 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

the people of culture, and of the Romans as full of 
energy. But how little do we find in the first mis- 
sionary records of ethnographic, political, commer- 
cial, conventional ideas as motives for evangelizing 
labor ! We ought to understand, moreover, the lesson 
of our own Anglo-Saxon history ; where were men 
and women to be found who were less attractive than 
the early inhabitants of Great Britain and Ireland ? 
The same Gospel that brought them to their present 
standing can change the people of Africa and make 
them intelligent, cultured, devoted Christians. There 
may be a place, a small place, in our thoughts of mis- 
sions for ideas of secular interest ; but it is for sinful, 
lost, and perishing sinners that this cause has its ex- 
istence. And it is for the sake of Jesus that we are 
in this work. May our faith be stronger ! 



XXVIII. 
THE PECUNIARY SUPPORT OF MISSIONS. 

HOW can this best be obtained — on what theory — 
by what agency ? The answer is short and satisfac- 
tory. It is on the theory that giving money to sup- 
port missions is the fruit of grace in the heart ; while 
the agency or means of cultivating this grace is the 
same as is to be employed for the life and growth of 
any other Christian grace. The word, sacraments 
and prayer, the providential dealings of God with his 
people, are all to be subservient to the fruitfulness of 



THE PECUNIAR Y SUPPORT OF MISSIONS. 107 

the Church in the grace of giving, just the same as in 
any and every grace. And the ministers of the 
Church, aided by the elders, are the men divinely ap- 
pointed to foster this and every other grace. If these 
men, especially the ministers, are faithful to the duty 
to which Christ has called them, in calling them to be 
office-bearers in his Church, then will the members of 
the Church abound in this grace also. And as well 
might outside men be employed to relieve ministers 
of any other part of their work, as to supersede them 
in this, — as well send " agents " to preach for them 
on faith, or to administer for them the sacraments, as 
to take their place when a missionary collection is to 
be made. They may indeed avail themselves of such 
special assistance as Providence places within reach, to 
awaken greater interest in the cause of Missions, just 
as they would for any other part of their own work. 

On this true theory, not only ministers and elders 
have a duty to fulfil in promoting the exercise of this 
divine grace among the people of their charge, but 
church courts, having the oversight of both ministers 
and people, should watch over their fidelity in this 
matter. 

These views being correct, we see — 

I. The responsibility of ministers and church offi- 
cers. No imperative reason hindering, is no collec- 
tion made at all ? Or is the collection a small one, 
because the people have not been fully instructed 
touching their duty, as revealed in the Scriptures, or 
because they have not had the means of knowing 
what the work is, and what are its needs, its encour- 



io8 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

agements, its prospects ? Well, thereby Christ is not 
honored ; thereby his people come short in their duty, 
and lose both the happiness of giving and the prom- 
ised reward, here and hereafter ; thereby souls perish 
without having heard of the way of salvation ; there- 
by an account, momentous in its nature, is to be ren- 
dered to Christ as the Judge in the great day. We 
shrink from dwelling on these truths. We gladly 
turn our thoughts to the church which abounds 
in this grace, giving according to the ability of its 
members, giving with a cheerful, loving, prayerful 
spirit ; happy the minister, happy the elders, who 
can point to such fruits of grace among their people ! 
Happy the people themselves ! And blessed will be 
their work for Christ here — more blessed hereafter 
and forever ! 

2. An explanation of the unsatisfactory Christian 
life of some church members. They live in the ha- 
bitual neglect of one grace, the grace of -giving. All 
the members of the body suffer, when one member 
suffers ; so it is in the family of Christian graces. Let 
faith be neglected, and what becomes of virtue ? Let 
humility be unfelt, and what becomes of meekness 
and patience ? Let the grace of giving be slighted, 
and what becomes of dependence on God, of grati- 
tude for his mercies, of compassion for the destitute, 
of love to the Redeemer, and how shall a worldly and 
a selfish spirit be avoided ? On the other hand, by 
" abounding in this grace also" there shall be increase 
in every other grace and in all good things. " There 
is that scattereth, and yet increaseth." 



"OUR COUNTRY FOR THE WORLD." 109 

XXIX. 
"OUR COUNTRY FOR THE WORLD." 

THIS sermon treats of a subject of no ordinary 
interest. There is a sense in which we should seek 
the salvation of our country for the sake of saving 
the other nations of the earth, just as there is a 
sense in which a man should seek his own salvation 
in order to his laboring to save the souls of his fel- 
low-men. The reason is good, though it is not the 
main reason for seeking salvation, either for one's 
self or for one's country. It may be a subject of 
discourse, provided it is not treated in such a way as 
to give it an undue prominence. 

It has become rather common of late years to put 
this topic forward ; it is the staple of many sermons, 
reports, addresses, etc. We find no fault with the 
sermon now under our notice, but use it only as the 
occasion of asking two or three questions, with brief 
remarks, on the general subject to which it and 
similar discourses invite our attention. 

Is it not difficult to treat a subject of this kind, 
without saying much to flatter the pride and vanity 
of our people ? Certainly we all know how easy it is 
to glorify a country that we love so much and have 
so much reason for loving as our own ; but we 
should guard against too lavish praise, and recall 
seasonably the serious reasons which exist for our 
being humble. If we become filled with a high con- 
ceit of our importance as a nation, it is not likely 



1 10 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

that the world will become much the better of our 
greatness. God will honor humble instruments. 

Is the effect of appeals constructed on the glori- 
fication plan favorable to the liberality of the Church ? 
We should suppose not, for whatever injures the 
piety must also injure the benevolence of Christians. 
Men will not give their money because you inflate 
them with a high notion of their own important posi- 
tion. Rather let them feel their own unworthiness ; 
then fix their minds on their obligations to redeem- 
ing grace ; afterwards hold up before them spiritual 
and eternal realities. The result will be humble self- 
denying, liberal service for God and man. 

What is the Scripture example ? We speak now 
of the influence of nations on each other, — how is 
this topic presented in the Bible ? It is often referred 
to under the Jewish dispensation ; rarely, we appre- 
hend, under the Christian. Under the former the 
Israelites were reminded of their peculiar obligations 
to serve God, but always in such terms as would tend 
to keep them humble. Under the latter, God seems 
to deal with men less as nations than as combined 
together in his Church, which is gathered out of all 
nations. It would have been very easy for a Jewish 
Christian, living A.D. 38, to have taken up his parable, 
with the motto before his mind's eye, " Our Country 
for the sake of the World." How many good and 
strong arguments could such an one have brought 
forward, appealing to Jewish history, position, influ- 
ence, glory ! How forcibly might he have urged his 
brethren to go and plant churches in every village, 



THE WORLD FOR OUR COUNTRY. in 

Christianize the whole nation, and then go forth and 
convert the world — yes, and' then go ! But we find 
no topic like this in the New Testament. And we 
find that the single qualification to'the commandment 
to preach the Gospel to every creature, relates to the 
place of beginning, not of ending, nor even of spend- 
ing their mid-day labors. They were to begin at 
Jerusalem, and this not because of the greatness of 
the Jewish nation, nor even because of their own 
natural feelings as Jews; but, as Bunyan shows clearly 
enough in his " Jerusalem Sinner Saved," because the 
Jerusalem sinners were " the biggest sinners that ever 
were in the world." The Christian Jew's topic, there- 
fore, would have abased and not inflated his hearers. 
Would not their efforts to convert the world have 
been all the more abundant and effective ? 



XXX. 
THE WORLD FOR OUR COUNTRY. 

In missionary speeches we often hear the saying, 
" Our country for the world," as presenting a strong 
argument for the duty of spreading the Gospel in 
this land. Here is the base of missionary movement ; 
convert our countrymen, and then you will convert 
the world. If viewed in one light this saying is true 
and important ; not much will be done for the con- 
version of the unevangelized nations by our people^ 
if our country falls off into irreligion, scepticism, Ro- 



1 1 2 liflSSWNAR Y PA PERS. 

manism, or Broadchurchism. Hence we all agree as 
to the great importance of our varied work of Home 
Evangelization ; no wise or good men should under- 
value or disparage it ; every Christian should regard 
it with deep sympathy. 

But if viewed in another light — that of first con- 
verting all our countrymen before we try to convert 
the world, this saying is without warrant either in 
the Scriptures or in the history of the Church. In 
this sense, it can not be reconciled with the gen- 
eral tenor of the Gospel, some of its great doctrines, 
the terms of the last commandment, the example of 
the primitive Church, nor the ways of Providence 
towards the nations. We boast of our Anglo-Saxon 
race — its energy and its great part in the changes of 
the world ; but it is little we can see into the future. 
We remember the old Jewish pride of race, which 
was quite up to the Anglo-Saxon level ; we look at 
its central position in the then known world ; we 
recollect its extraordinary gifts of intellect and of 
energy ; we think of its wonderful history among the 
nations ; and we can easily see how the first Chris- 
tians, " beginning at Jerusalem," might have argued 
that their duty was to convert their countrymen be- 
fore going abroad to convert the world. Perhaps the 
disciples of Christ were so minded at first, but if so, 
they were soon taught a better lesson. The Jewish 
race has fallen from its high estate ; but we hope it 
will be restored by God's blessing on the missionary 
labors of his people. 

It is of course true that we should seek the salva- 



THE WORLD FOR OUR COUNTRY. 113 

tion of our countrymen for the sake of the world ; 
but the converse is also true, we should seek the 
salvation of the world for the sake of our country — 

1. As a means of neutralizing or remedying cer- 
tain tendencies to evil in the various churches them- 
selves. We refer now to the narrow and absorbing 
claims of local interests, and to the unamiable de- 
nominational spirit so often witnessed. Local ob- 
jects must indeed receive attention, and there is 
a true denominational spirit which is to be cher- 
ished ; no church can be built up on the basis of 
indifference to revealed truth, which lies at the 
bottom of much so-called unionism. But often 
the danger lies in the opposite extreme, and a 
selfish spirit is manifested which can see little that 
is good outside of its own denomination ; hence 
churches are planted, and supported from missionary 
funds often, in towns and neighborhoods already 
more than supplied with the means of grace. What 
is more discouraging than to see from four to six or 
eight evangelical churches in a small town of station- 
ary or declining population ? It leads irreligious 
persons and irregular church-goers, solicited to at- 
tend to so many churches, to count their attendance 
a favor to these rival churches ; and it ends in many 
cases by their going nowhere. It uses up too many 
ministers and too much money to sustain them, and 
to build churches which can never be filled. We 
deplore all this, while we sympathize deeply with 
those of our brethren who are laboring in such places. 
We need not here consider the remedies for this state 



ii4 MISSIONAR Y PA PERS. 

of things, but we think that if our Christian people 
were fully engaged in the great work of missions 
abroad, it would tend to correct these evils in some 
degree. 

It would do this in several respects — by the broader 
views they would form of the sphere of Christian duty 
and influence ; by the deeper sense of the spiritual 
destitution and necessity of those who have never 
heard of Christ ; by the experience of Christian 
graces, required and fostered in their efforts to 
spread the Gospel abroad — the faith in Christ, love 
for him, self-denial for his sake, sense of his presence, 
assurance of his power and victory over the nations. 
We are far from denying that these graces may be 
developed in our evangelistic work at home, but in 
the same work abroad they are at once indispensable 
to success and called forth in a marked degree. 
Now all this bears on the influence and power of the 
churches at home. It can not be denied that causes 
of deep solicitude arrest the thoughts of reflecting 
men amongst us. How can we best guard against 
acknowledged public evils ? How can we best unite 
our countrymen — our colored people, our Irish Catho- 
lics, our German rationalists — in the common bonds 
of intelligence and virtue ? " We have heathen 
enough at home " ; so some one objected to the late 
Bishop Wilson, of Calcutta, when pleading for India 
in England. " Yes, you have, but it is only mission- 
ary piety that can save them." 

2. As a means of promoting the piety and devoted- 
ness of our Christian people, we think the ideas just 



THE WORLD FOR OUR COUNTRY. 115 

suggested go far to show that the cause of foreign 
missions exerts a benign influence. We need not 
enlarge on this point. 

3. As a means of good to children of the Church. 
This cause will help them to form enlarged views of 
their work in future life. Their training for useful- 
ness will be on the plane of the Gospel, high, noble, 
and wide as the world. We must not let them lose 
the benefit of missionary biographies and books of 
travel, the manifold influences of our work in China, 
India, Africa, and other foreign fields of labor. We 
can not dwell on this, nor on — 

4. The connection between the work abroad and 
the spiritual interests of its friends and supporters at 
home, in the direct blessing thereby given to them by 
our Lord. Not merely does this work react on the 
intelligence, piety, and devotedness of the churches 
of this land, but the Saviour fulfils his promise to 
them ; he is with them while they are in this work, 
and he is not with them when they neglect it. What 
examples of this might be given ! Our own history 
as a branch of the Church might well be referred to 
here. See how all our home interests have been 
prospered since we entered as a Church on the work 
of foreign missions. If the growth of these missions 
has been something wonderful, so has been the prog- 
ress of our varied work at home, following the for— 
'mer, in some important respects. 

Hence, if we- would enjoy prosperity, even the 
blessing of God, on the sacred interests of our 
churches in this country, we must cherish the work 



1 16 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

of missions abroad. Because we love our country, 
we plead for the foreign work of the Church. We 
have no fears that any of its home interests will suf- 
fer loss by our efforts to give the Gospel to other 
nations ; we seek the conversion of the world for the 
sake of our country. 



XXXI. 

THIRTY MEETING-HOUSES, Etc. 

" For example : in this township and the eight adjoining it, 
there are thirty meeting-houses. The population averages 
about 1,250 in number in a township, or 375 for each meeting- 
house. About half the people do not attend public worship ; 
so that we have only 188 for each congregation, or 37 fami- 
lies. If half the members of these families attend each Sab- 
bath, we have audiences of 93 persons each. Could all these 
houses be occupied by able and good ministers, the audiences 
would not exceed that number. Such men do now preach in 
several of them to audiences not averaging more than 80 
persons. This vicinity is not peculiar in this thing. There 
are many hundreds of places in essentially the same situation 
in respect to denominational divisions." — N. "Y. Observer, 
January 23, 1851. 

The above extract is taken from a correspondent of 
the Observer, who is probably one of the thirty min- 
isters.' It suggests some practical thoughts : 

I. These thirty churches can do but little for the 
cause of benevolence. Their pecuniary strength must 
be laid out mainly in supporting their own ministers. 



THIR T Y MEE TING- HO USES, ETC. 117 

2. These thirty ministers must often feel greatly 
disheartened. They preach to the smallest kind of 
congregations. And they are no doubt sorely tried 
with many a cross from undue rivalry. 

3. To multiply churches and ministers is not always 
the best way to evangeli/e a community : " About 
half the people do not attend public worship." The 
relation between these facts is worthy of deep study. 

4. There are too many ministers in these nine town- 
ships. Some of them are possibly teachers of error 
— of universalism or unitarianism, and should not be 
counted as ministers of the Gospel. But doubtless 
most of them preach substantially the truth as it is in 
Jesus, and they can not be all needed for the instruc- 
tion of less than 12,000 souls, especially as one-half of 
the people do not wish to be instructed. There is a 
limit to the number of Gospel ministers that should 
be provided for a neighborhood or for a nation. We 
would not furnish a church to every little hamlet, nor 
a preacher for every shade of religious belief in a small 
community. We must leave men, moreover, in mul- 
titudes of cases, just where they put themselves. If 
they can hear the Gospel, and will not — if they can 
attend church, and will not — what is to be done ? 
What could the Apostles themselves do for such men ? 

5. How can either the men or the funds be obtained 
for the work abroad, if the example of these nine 
townships and their thirty churches is to be generally 
followed ? And is not this the tendency of things in 
many places ? We may know communities that are 
not so numerously supplied with religious privileges : 



1 1 8 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

and yet we know others that are ; and others still 
that are approaching the same result. It is a result 
that is disastrous to all efforts for sending the Gospel 
to those who have never heard of Christ and his 
salvation. 

The subject presented in this example — the exces- 
sive subdivision of congregations, and multiplying of 
ministers in feeble parishes with little or no prospect 
of much growth, and often requiring aid from do- 
mestic missionary funds — is a large one, and a diffi- 
cult one in some of its aspects. Its general bearings 
deserve the attentipn of reflecting men. Our object 
is gained, in pointing out its ruinous influence on all 
missionary efforts, outside of the local churches. 



XXXII. 



ON "SLOWING" THE WORK OF FOREIGN MIS- 
SIONS. 

ONE of our leading missionary societies not long 
ago deplored the fact that so few young men in the 
Theological Seminaries of its denomination were 
known to be expecting to go abroad as missionaries. 
Referring to this statement, a professor in one of 
these seminaries published several articles, not to 
deny the alleged fact, but partially to account for it. 
He refers to the great work to be done in this coun- 
try, dwells on the usual topics of the growth of our 
population, the influx of emigrants, the want of min- 
isters, and amongst other things, suggests the inquiry 



ON "SLOWING" THE WORK. 119 

whether an advance in the foreign work of the Church 
should not be suspended, if this is necessary to the 
speedy conversion of our countrymen. The qualifi- 
cation should be noted — if, etc., but it may be feared 
that most readers will understand the general drift of 
the papers as unqualified. At any rate, it is not apparent 
why this inquiry should be made, when out of 48,000 
evangelical ministers in the churches of our country, 
as estimated in 1877, only about six hundred are in 
the foreign field, and when the 6,000,000 of communi- 
cants in our churches do not reach in their gifts to 
foreign missions the average of one cent for each per 
week. 

Moreover, before " slowing " the great work abroad, 
it would be well to consider questions of re-arrange- 
ment at home. Hundreds, if not thousands of evan- 
gelical ministers, and a large amount of domestic 
missionary funds, might be set free for the service of 
destitute places, if our various denominations would 
agree that only one or two ministers should be sup- 
ported in each small and not growing village and 
town. How this result is to be secured, the professor 
and others might well consider. Indeed no greater 
question calls for earnest study by those entrusted 
with the administration of evangelistic work in our 
country, than how to prevent the misuse of funds 
and the embarrassment of ministers, by crowding 
them into small places already occupied by a sufficient 
number of evangelical clergymen. A young friend of 
the present writer found himself commissioned as " a 
home missionary " in a town of 800 inhabitants, with 



1 20 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

no prospect of increase, where there were four evangeli- 
cal ministers, all largely supported by the Boards of 
their respective denominations. But apart from any 
statistical questions, we may well say that the sug- 
gested measure, that of arresting the foreign work, 
would not meet the case ; we all believe in the divine 
law of gracious recompense — " he that watereth shall 
be watered also himself." We suppose that nobody 
doubts the beneficial influence of foreign missions on 
the churches that support them. To stay their growth 
would be destructive abroad and suicidal at home ; 
certainly destructive abroad. As well arrest the 
growth of a family of children, or the growth of the 
grain of mustard seed, when it is becoming a tree. 

With this brief reference to the merits of the measure, 
we might leave the professor ; but as his view will doubt- 
less influence public opinion,we may add a few remarks. 
Agreeing cordially with many things in them, we 
must express non-concurrence with other points. 
The suggestion that our foreign missionaries must be 
sought in the ranks of the poor rather than of the rich, 
is to be deprecated. We have no " Seventh Regi- 
ment " in our ministerial force at home or abroad ; 
all our soldiers are men redeemed at an unspeakable 
price, who must equally say, " Here am I, send me." 
In actual life we have known missionaries, in all re- 
spects among the best, who were men of considerable 
pecuniary means, and some who were men of large 
property ; but their comfortable or ample income did 
not lessen their devotedness to their Saviour in the 
every-day labors of missionary life — indeed, why 



ON "SLOWING" THE WORK. 121 

should it? Nor is the idea that men of inferior 
talents and education will answer the claims of the 
foreign field to be for a moment conceded. Many of 
the ablest men in the ministry of the American 
Church have found the amplest scope and need of all 
their abilities in the work abroad. We may also dis- 
sent from the idea that a whole band of young minis- 
ters, going together to one of our Western States, 
would be more useful in the ministry than if they had 
gone to a'foreign country; if they had been called to 
go to Brazil or to China, might not their usefulness 
have been simply immeasurable ? 

Passing to the general views which govern the sub- 
ject, we remark — 

1. The question of duty as to missionary life is a 
personal one. In the professor's statements stress is 
laid on revivals of missionary feeling, on " waves " of 
missionary influence, coming over the Seminary at 
times, and leading men to offer themselves as laborers 
in the foreign field. How much weight should be 
given to such general impressions we do not know, 
but we must still remember that the question of 
duty as to engaging in missionary life is mainly one 
between the soul and its Saviour. Lord, what wilt 
thou have me to do ? Each should decide this ques- 
tion for himself, in the view of well-defined reasons. 
Various causes prevent many persons from becoming 
missionaries. For a long time to come, probably, 
most of our ministers will be led to remain in this 
country, and we shall ever bless God for their faithful 
labors and their holy lives ; but their usefulness and 
6 



1 22 MISSION AR V PAPERS. 

comfort will not be lessened by their having fully con- 
sidered the question of personal duty as to the place 
of their ministry, whether at Gaboon or Canton, or 
in some favored home parish. Under " the marching 
orders " of the Church, how can they know, without 
such examination of the subject, where they should 
spend their ministry ? 

2. Much depends on the leadings of Providence. 
These statements very properly refer to the growth of 
our population and the calls for laborers in many 
places. Not a syllable should be said to weaken the 
force of such appeals ; but for our encouragement we 
should remember, that the ratio of increase during 
the last forty years in the number of evangelical 
ministers in this country has far outrun that of the 
increase of our population. From 1830 to 1870, the 
increase of the former is fivefold ; of the latter, but 
threefold. There is now an evangelical minister to 
every 800 souls, on the average ; in 1830, one to every 
1350 souls. 2d. While this favorable result has been 
gained in the past, the problem of ministerial supply 
is likely to be less difficult in the future. There are 
other views still, but we need not refer to them. We 
have hopeful impressions of the ministerial supply of 
our country, provided only the ministers are of the 
right kind. 

On the other hand, we should remember that in 
these forty years, wonderful to a degree have been 
the open doors set before the Church in many unevan- 
gelized countries. Recall the state of the case in 
1830 — Mexico and South America, unopened ; West- 



ON "SLOWING" THE WORK. 123 

ern Africa, ravaged by the slave trade ; Western 
Asia, Persia, the larger part of India, Siam, China, 
Japan, all closed against missionary labors ; France 
and Italy, inaccessible ; but now and for years past 
all this is changed. Coupled with this is the change 
in the connection of the nations with each other, so 
that now China and Japan are our near neighbors. 
We can go to these countries now in a few weeks, 
fewer than the months previously required for the 
voyage. No thoughtful observer of Providence will 
overlook these changes, nor their immediate bearing 
on the duty of the Church. As to what may be 
called personal leadings of Providence, we do not here 
enter on the consideration of them. 

3. Scripture views must be held as mainly decisive 
in questions of missionary duty. 1st. The heathen 
are sinful, lost, and perishing, and must now or very 
soon hear the Gospel, if they are ever to hear it ; each 
one of them is now passing on to his last day of hope. 
We fear that their deplorable condition is not suffi- 
ciently laid to heart, nor the rule of doing to them as 
we would be done by, if they were in our case and 
we in theirs, sufficiently considered. 2d. The last 
commandment of our Lord, as it was understood by 
his first disciples, is still the law of the. Church, and 
our personal relation to our Saviour is a strong incen- 
tive to obedience. 3d. Duty is ours, not results, but 
we do not labor in vain ; the blessed prospect of the 
redemption of all nations sustains our hope. 4th. In 
the meantime, loyal to our beloved country, and in 
full sympathy with all our brethren at home, we and 



1 24 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

they believe that " there is that scattereth and yet in- 
creaseth." These and other Scripture views of the 
subject are greatly important. Let them be held by 
our Christian people, let them be earnestly considered, 
and there will be no want of missionaries and of 
means for their support. 

As to preaching the Gospel to every creature, it is a 
work only begun in most countries. With large re- 
sources of men and means, our churches may well go 
forward in its support. Any retrograde movement, 
even any halt in the march, must not be thought of. 
To stand still in this cause, or to attempt to stay 
its speed, would be not only a great wrong to souls 
that are in darkness, but it would be the sure and 
certain way of losing the Saviour's presence. We can 
not doubt that while we go on in this work our 
Saviour is going before us, by his Providence and by 
his Spirit and fulfilling to us his blessed promise, 
" Lo, I am with you alway, even to the end of the 
world." 



XXXIII. 

" MERE PREACHERS AND TEACHERS." 

" CAN not something be devised that will work 
better?" A religious newspaper, which is taken to 
some extent in our Sabbath-schools, recently con- 
tained an editorial article on the missionary work 
from which the above quotation is taken, and we 
are asked what we think of this article ? 



" MERE PREACHERS AND TEACHERS." 125 

Let us state its purport, briefly, but fairly. It 
speaks with high commendation of the existing mis- 
sionary plans of the Christian Church, but suggests 
that they are matters of routine, and show no im- 
provement in fifty years ; that they are doing a great 
work, indeed, but " do not meet the exigencies of the 
case with that rapidity which the pious heart craves" ; 
that the " methods of benevolence " are far behind 
those of commerce, even as an old road wagon falls 
behind a railway train ; and then the editor intro- 
duces with praise the views of an English writer, who 
would turn the enterprise of business men, capital- 
ists, planters, and manufacturers into the line of mis- 
sionary work. 

This abstract of the article in question conveys a 
general idea of its drift ; but, to avoid doing injustice 
to its author, we would add, that he writes profess- 
edly in aid of missions as now conducted, not intend- 
ing to hinder their progress. He is their friend, but 
he wants something more and something better. 

Now, we like the practical lesson that Christian 
men ought to do good, as they have opportunity, 
in whatever foreign place they may engage in busi- 
ness — whether among heathens, Mohammedans, or 
Romanists. They might in some cases go abroad 
for this purpose. There have been such examples, 
and they might be multiplied. As to colonising 
Christianity among a heathen people, however, or 
forming " industrial settlements " among them, espe- 
cially in countries of dense population, so many 
things must concur to make them successful, that it 



126 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

will seldom be found practicable to establish them ; 
but on this we forbear to enter. We approve, more- 
over, of turning to account, as far as expedient, all 
modern facilities for carrying on the missionary work ; 
and this is done by missionary institutions, as well- 
informed men of course know. 

But we dissent altogether from the idea implied in 
this article, that adherence to the existing type of 
missionary labor is inconsistent with the best prog- 
ress. To preach and to teach are the distinctive 
features of modern missions. They are more than 
" fifty years " old, dating back in the days when our 
blessed Lord was on earth, and exemplified by 
the Apostles. These means, and the sending forth 
of the Bible, are leavening, seed-sowing agencies. 
They may not attract notice by loud rumbling sounds 
or noisy wheel-work, but powerful agencies are often 
silent, like the rays of the sun or the movement of 
the tide. These means are divinely appointed. The 
power of God attends them. The results produced 
by them in the last half century are the same in kind, 
and often as signal in degree, as in the primitive age 
of the Church. Let us beware of unbelief, in not 
expecting the greatest results from preaching and 
teaching ; let us be reminded that the world is to be 
converted, " not by might nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord." The true ground of hope 
for success is not the invention of new methods of 
benevolence, but the promises of God, the presence 
of the Saviour with his servants, and the influences 
of the Holy Spirit to be poured forth as on the day 



NA TI VE LANG UA GE INDISPENSABLE. 1 27 

of Pentecost — all this interposition of the Almighty 
being graciously connected with the prayers and la- 
bors of his people ; and these labors, as we believe, 
should consist mainly in preaching and teaching, now 
as ever, from the beginning of Christianity. Indeed, 
we have always regarded the use of the same means 
in heathen as in Christian countries, in promoting 
the extension of the Gospel, as one of the strong 
things of the missionary work. God will make them 
effectual in the accomplishment of his gracious pur- 
poses. We may add, that for all we can see, the dis- 
paraging implication of this article bears as strongly 
against preaching and teaching here at home as in 
the missions abroad. 



XXXIV. 



LEARNING THE NATIVE LANGUAGE INDISPEN- 
SABLE TO MISSIONARIES. 

We take some forcible remarks on this subject 
from a letter of a gentleman of large missionary ex- 
perience and attainments. His letter was not writ- 
ten for publication, and therefore we withhold his 
name, but with some regret, as it would add much 
to the weight of the opinions here expressed. Cer- 
tainly, all missionaries, women as well as men, should 
learn the language of the people amongst whom they 
-live and labor. Their highest usefulness requires 
this knowledge ; so does their comfort in their inter- 
course with the natives ; and so also does their sym- 



128 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

pathy with them in the manifold circumstances of 
life. Without such knowledge, no one should long 
remain on missionary ground. Whether Missionary 
Boards do or do not enter into formal agreement with 
the missionaries as to their making this acquirement 
within a reasonable time, the obligation to learn the 
language is sacred ; so much so, that express stipula- 
tions ought not to be needed in the case. It belongs 
to the common law of the subject. Our correspond- 
ent says : 

" I am clearly of opinion, that [in no case] should 
the trial be too prolonged. If in two or three years 
at the most, a new missionary has not acquired a 
pretty free use of the language for speaking pur- 
poses, as well as the reading of plain books, I should 
conclude that he has mistaken his vocation. With- 
out this degree of acquirement, it is impossible for 
him to command the attention and reach the mind 
of the people. 

" In the Society new missionaries are sub- 
jected to an examination and their progress reported 
— an arrangement which we, I think, might well 

adopt with advantage Let it be understood 

that they are taken on trial, and that some committee 
[of older missionaries], whom you may designate, 
will examine them and report to you after the lapse 
of a year. 

" The Society have but few men in , but 

' there is not one feeble amongst them.' Not only 
have they stood conspicuous for literary activity, but 
their churches are always among the most prosperous 



NA TIVE LANGUAGE INDISPENSABLE. 129 

at their respective stations. [Our correspondent here 
enumerates the names of several respected mission- 
aries of the Society to which he refers, and gives 
some notices of their successful work ; and then he 
continues :] 

" This marked contrast with the greater numbers 
and inferior efficiency of the agents of other societies 
is no doubt owing in the first place to a careful selec- 
tion of the men who are sent into the field, and then 
to the fact that a high standard of attainments is 
required of them. No young man should be sent to 
this country who has not the requisite talents to 
make him either a city preacher or a college profes- 
sor if he should remain at home. It is not numbers, 
but ability that we want, backed up of course by 
piety — without which the candidate might be sent 

of men, but not of God. Mr. , of the Board, 

and I have talked much of this subject, and he has 
urged me to write my views more fully for the bene- 
fit of other societies than my own. This I may do 
at another time, but just as the mail is closing I jot 
down these hasty lines apropos to the subject of the 
letter." 

We commend these views, which are evidently well 
matured, even if hastily written, to the consideration 
especially of all our friends who are called on to 
recommend candidates for appointment as mission- 
aries. The Board must necessarily depend very much 
in these cases on the recommendations of pastors, 
professors, and other Christian friends. We> should 
understand our respected correspondent not as im- 
6* 



1 30 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

plying that ministers in other stations in the Church 
may not be quite equal to men of the classes speci- 
fied, or even superior to many of them ; but merely 
as indicating a general grade of ability and scholar- 
ship. We suppose the true aim of the Church 
should be to appoint as missionaries those only who 
appear to be called to this work, so far as this can 
be learned from the Providence, Word, and Spirit of 
God ; in other words, to choose those whom God has 
chosen for it. And in some cases, it must be borne 
in mind that men of humble promise reach the high- 
est degrees of usefulness, like the celebrated Dr. 
Milne in China. All missionary fields, moreover, do 
not require the same grades of ability, scholarship, 
etc. ; and in some, there are different departments of 
labor, not requiring equal gifts, though all needing 
the gift of a native tongue ; and surely all do need 
the deepest and the highest attainments of piety. 



XXXV. 
WHERE TO LEARN A LANGUAGE. 

Should missionaries learn the language of the 
people to whom they are to be sent, before leaving 
this country ? In favor of their doing so, may be 
reckoned their being with friends, their being at less 
expense, their living in a healthy climate, etc. As 
to the climate, however, in the United States of Co- 
lombia, Brazil, Syria, Persia, India, Siam, China, and 



WHERE TO LEARN A LANGUAGE. 131 

Japan, if a man has a constitution suited to it, he 
will live as long probably there as here. 

On the other hand \st, it is difficult to learn a lan- 
guage, so as to speak it well, and to understand it 
when spoken, unless it is studied among the people 
who use it, — to say nothing of the risk of forming 
bad habits of pronunciation, erroneous idioms, etc. 
2d, Time will in most cases be saved by going at once 
into the midst of the people ; indeed, missionaries 
often retard their acquisition of the much-coveted 
gift by staying in the study when they ought to 
be mingling with the natives. Of both the preced- 
ing points, we have many examples here at home. 
Uneducated Germans and others often learn our lan- 
guage soon and well after they come to this coun- 
try ; and, on the other hand, even our bright youths 
have to spend a long time here in learning French 
or German before they can speak it. Missionaries 
commonly make considerable progress in acquiring 
the native language in a year at their stations, more 
perhaps than they would make in two years at home. 
3d, Among the people, the missionary is daily learn- 
ing other things besides their language — things 
hardly less useful to him in his work, such as the 
character, the ideas, the ways, etc., of those whose 
salvation he has come to seek. Every day should 
be turned to good account in this respect. \th, Ex- 
perience is on this side of the question. The school 
for missionary candidates at Rome, which has been 
cited, is not a case in .point ; its pupils have other ob- 
jects before them than to learn the language of the 



132 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

heathen ; indeed, this is already in most cases their 
native tongue. In England, however, there were two 
schools, long kept up, for the education of the civil 
and military servants of the- East India Company. 
These were provided with accomplished teachers and 
the best facilities for the study of the Hindu lan- 
guages, and no expense was spared to make them 
efficient ; but the results were not altogether satis- 
factory, and, we believe, the schools have been given 
up. The tenor of the experience of most missionary in- 
stitutions need not be dwelt on. Other considerations 
might be mentioned, but we only add, that if a mis- 
sionary can have a competent teacher, it may be very 
well for him to make a beginning and to acquire a gen- 
eral knowledge of the language. He should remind 
himself, however, both at first and afterwards, that 
" a book knowledge " of the language will be of little 
practical use in his intercourse with the people. 

A further question as to learning the language is 
sometimes asked — whether a missionary would not 
acquire it sooner by going out unmarried ? And 
some missionary societies act on the affirmative reply, 
sending their missionaries out as single men, to 
remain unmarried for a certain period. The wisdom 
of this rule, as' one of general use, is not evident. 
Cases no doubt occur in which an unmarried man 
would make better progress than if he were hindered 
by family cares. The usage commonly adopted in 
our colleges and professional schools, that of un- 
married life, may be referred to as in this line. But 
new missionaries have, in most instances, reached older 



WHERE TO LEARN A LANGUAGE. 133 

years and greater maturity than college students. If 
under thirty years of age, a man of respectable talents 
and of good application, provided he has ordinary 
linguistic ability, and in some languages provided he 
has also an ear to distinguish clearly between different 
sounds, may hope to succeed in learning to speak a 
foreign tongue within a reasonable time, not over two 
or three years, in some cases less, in other cases more. 
No attainment less than this should satisfy a mission- 
ary board or the missionary himself. No laborer in 
the missionary field should be content with merely 
dabbling in English in his work for the heathen. 
The gift of tongues is one of great price in its every- 
day use. All due care should be taken previous to 
the appointment of any one as a missionary, to guard 
against disappointment as to his making this acqui- 
sition. A report of progress should be called for at 
the end of each year, which, if not satisfactory, should 
result in his recall. But disappointment will be sel- 
dom met with in the cases of those who have made 
satisfactory attainments at college and the theolog- 
ical seminary, and who enter on further studies with 
the conscientious endeavor which becomes every one 
who goes abroad, to make men hear in their own 
" tongues the wonderful works of God." Such hon- 
est and earnest purpose and effort will count for far 
more than any regulation-rule on this subject. 



1 34 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

XXXVI. 
TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES. 

SCARCELY any duty of the Christian missionary is 
more important than that of translating the Word of 
God into the language of the people among whom he 
labors, and hardly any is more difficult. 

It requires a mind deeply imbued with the spirit of 
the Bible, a thorough knowledge of the meaning of 
Sacred Scripture, a perfect command of the language 
into which the translation is to be made, and habits 
of patient and discriminating study, to make a man a 
good translator. The first two of these qualifications 
are a part of every missionary's preparation for his 
work ; the last is a rarer attainment than most persons 
would at first thought believe, and as valuable as it is 
rare. Perfect knowledge of any language can perhaps 
never be acquired by a foreigner. He may learn the 
general meaning of words and the grammatical struct- 
ure of the language ; but the associations connected 
with words, the shades of thought expressed by 
them, the emphasis of due arrangement, can hardly 
be fully appreciated by any other than a well-educated 
native. The best translation, therefore, of the Script- 
ures into any language, the common or authorized 
version, must be made by pious and learned natives — 
themselves masters of the original Hebrew and Greek, 
and perfectly at home in their own speech. Such 
were the translators of our English Bible — a version 



TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES. 135 

acknowledged by all competent judges to be of the 
greatest excellence. 

But though missionaries can not hope to make the 
best version, they can yet translate the Word of God 
with so much accuracy as to be of great benefit to its 
readers. The leading truths of Christianity are so 
clear and shining, that their light will penetrate 
through the mists and clouds of imperfect transla- 
tions, and men can, and in many countries do, read in 
their own tongues the wonderful works of God. 
When missionaries have learnt the native language, 
have become familiar with its use from preaching and 
talking to the natives, and have long observed how 
the natives themselves use it, they are then prepared 
in some degree to translate the Scriptures. This 
work may be done in concert, by conventions of ex- 
perienced missionaries ; but probably it would be 
better done by separate action, as it was by Wicliffe, 
Varela, Yates, and others. Then, after fair trial of 
the translation for some years, it might be subjected 
to revision by a company of well-qualified men, es- 
pecially native scholars, as in the case of the author- 
ized English version of A.D. 161 1. 

These remarks have been suggested by looking into 
the English Hexapla, or the six principal versions of 
our English New Testament. We give a quotation 
below from the Gospel of St. Luke, ii. 13, 14, to illus- 
trate the variations to be found in translations, which 
on the whole are good. The attentive reader will 
notice that the sense is quite affected by some of 
them, and even by the pointing. This extract is in- 



136 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

teresting, also, as showing the changes in the spelling 
of words and the use of capital letters, which occur 
in the course of a few centuries. The changes in the 
shape and figure of the letters are not less great, but 
the type to exhibit them is not readily available. 

WlCLlF — 1380. 

and sudeynli there was made with the aungel a 
multitude of heuenli knygthod ; heryinge* god and 
seiynge, glorie be in the higest thingis to god : and in 
erthe pees be to men of good wille. 

[* Praising]. 

Tynd ale— 1534. 

And streight waye ther was with the angell a mul- 
titude of hevenly sowdiers, laudynge God and say- 
inge : Glory to God an hye, and peace on the erth : 
and vnto men reioysynge. 

Cranmer — 1539. 

And streyght waye ther was with the angell a mul- 
titude of heauenly sowdyers, praysing God : and say- 
inge : Glory to God on hye, and peace on the erth, 
and vnto men a good wyll. 

Geneva — 1557. 

And strayghtway there was with the Angel a mul- 
titude of heauenly souldiers, laudyng God, and saying, 
Glorie be to God in the hye heauens, and peace in 
earth, and towards men good wyl. 



TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES. 137 

Rheims— 1582. 

And sodenly there was with the Angel a multi- 
tude of the heauenly armie, praising God, and saying, 
Glorie in the highest to God : and in earth peace to 
men of good vvil. 

Authorized — 161 1. 

And suddenly there was with the Angel a multi- 
tude of the heauenly hoste praysing God, and saying, 
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
good wil towards men. 



XXXVII. 
MISSIONARIES TRANSLATING THE SCRIPTURES. 

One of our missionaries in the East, feeling strongly 
the trouble of the Board as to- funds, inquired why 
the senior member of his mission, who is largely 
though not exclusively engaged in the work of trans- 
lating the Sacred Scriptures, should not be placed on 
the funds of the Bible Society for his support. This 
question called for an answer, which is here inserted 
for the consideration of readers not then in view. 

" At first blush, this [proposed transfer] might seem 
to be a good thing ; but the more you think of it the 
less you will like it, as it seems to me. So far as 
saving our mission funds is concerned, it is a two- 
edged thing, and its sharpest edge would cut away 



138 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

much of the ground on which our cause rests. As 
it is now, we say to our churches that some of our 
brethren are translating the Sacred Scriptures, and 
funds are needed for their support. We have been 
supporting them for fifteen or more years until now 
they are qualified for this important part of mis- 
sionary work. It is just the right sequel to add that 
we are still supporting them while engaged in it. But 
hand them over to the Bible Society, and you hand 
over the basis of your appeal ; and you also confuse 
the attention of our friends by opening the door to 
appeals from another society for our work. We should 
certainly lose far more than we should save, by en- 
abling the society to say, 'We are supporting Dr. 

, or Mr. , or any other good missionary of 

the Presbyterian Board, and we want funds for this 
purpose.' 

" But there are weightier reasons. 

" i. The missionaries so employed are doing mis- 
sionary work, pure and simple. Why turn it over to 
a society not organized for missionary purposes? 

" 2. They can and they should at the same time be 
doing other kinds of missionary work, such as the 
Bible Society could not well support. 

" 3. They should do this work and all their work 
in close connection with the other brethren of their 
own mission, and not virtually independent of them. 

"4. The supervision of their work of translation 
can in most cases be better secured by their own mis- 
sion and Board than by the Bible Society. Indeed, 
it deserves consideration whether the Bible Society 



ON TRANSFERRING "BAPTIZO." 139 

should engage in the work of translating the Sacred 
Scriptures. Its selection of the best translation, after 
conference with men who are well acquainted with 
the language, and its work in the circulation of the 
Scriptures, are of the greatest moment, and properly 
belong to its charge. 

" 5. I think the best translations have been made 
by missionaries, who work in the line and with the 
support of their own Boards." 



XXXVIII. 
ON TRANSFERRING "BAPTIZO." 

This paper was drawn up with reference to the 
overture on the subject, which was sent up to the 
General Assembly of 1861. The circumstances are 
here briefly stated under which the overture was re- 
solved upon ; and some of the reasons in favor of 
transferring the word in question, when it is practi- 
cable to make such transfer, are summarily stated. 

" In the fulfilment of their duties, the Executive 
Committee of the Board of Foreign Missions have 
been called to consider the question of transferring 
or translating the word baptizo, in a translation of 
two of the gospels made by esteemed missionaries of 
the Board. These brethren had been led to translate 
this word, though admitting that it is practicable to 
transfer it. 

" On the application for funds to print the transla- 
tion thus made of the Gospel of Matthew, owing to 



140 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

some special circumstances the Committee gave their 
consent, though serious doubts were entertained by 
some of the members as to the expediency of trans- 
lating the word in question. On the further applica- 
tion for funds to print the Gospel of Mark, about a 
year afterwards, the subject received a more earnest 
consideration in the Committee ; but before they had 
come to a decision in the case, arrangements were 
made for having it printed at the expense of another 
Institution. Inasmuch, however, as the principle in- 
volved may affect hereafter the duty of the Com- 
mittee towards the mission by whose members this 
translation was made, and as it extends to translations 
of the Scriptures now in progress or yet to be made 
by members of other missions, it is important to 
have the matter properly understood by all parties. 

" In the view of what is believed to be the senti- 
ment of the Presbyterian Church on this subject, as 
shown by the general approval of the common En- 
glish Bible in the transfer of this word ; in the view 
also of the certainty of guarding against imperfect 
and erroneous conceptions of the sacrament of bap- 
tism, such as might easily arise from an unhappy choice 
of a word for translating baptizo ; in the view, more- 
over, of the facility with which, in most languages, 
this word can be introduced and naturalized — the 
whole idea of Christian baptism having to be ex- 
plained, and it requiring but little further difficulty to 
explain the new word which represents it ; in the 
view, still further, of having a uniform practice in this 
matter, so that the succeeding members of a mission 



ON TRANSFERRING "BAPTIZO." 141 

may not feel called upon nor at liberty to change 
the word selected by their predecessors, a result which 
might easily follow the plan of translating this word ; 
and generally in the view of the desirableness of hav- 
ing the same word used in the Church of this country 
and all the churches abroad, so far as this may be 
practicable, which have been or may be organized by 
the missionaries, and also of conforming to the prac- 
tice of most other Christian churches and missionary 
institutions ; — the Committee may very well hesitate 
to sanction the printing of translations in which the 
word baptizo is not transferred, but translated. 

" Nevertheless, in deference to the suggestion, 
though not in acknowledgment of its correctness, 
that to withhold their sanction from the course adopted 
by the missionary brethren might be considered an 
improper exercise of authority ; and especially in 
order to obtain from the General Assembly its judg- 
ment as to the main point, as at once authoritative, 
weighty, and governing all similar cases, the Com- 
mittee may well desire to have the subject brought 
before that venerable body in some suitable way." 

The General Assembly expressed its approval of 
transferring rather than translating baptizo. 



XXXIX. 

A.D. 1832-1872. 

. In 1832 in the Synod of Pittsburgh an eloquent 
appeal was made by a member in behalf of some 
good cause, his appeal being founded largely on the 



i 4 2 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

growing population of the "Valley of the Mississippi." 
Statistics were given and reasons assigned to show 
that in a few years this great valley would contain 
25,000,000 of people. Double the specified period of 
time has since gone round, and the statistics of the 
last census show that in this valley, with the popula- 
tion of the States .and Territories further westward 
superadded, the population does not nearly reach the 
number then estimated. Its growth has, however, 
been very great ; the new railways, the rising towns, 
the influx of people from the older States and from 
foreign countries, are among the remarkable things of 
the period. We do not wonder at the interest awak- 
ened by them in the various kinds of efforts which 
the churches of different denominations are making 
for the establishment of our blessed religion in this 
vast Home Missionary field. We rejoice to see, 
moreover, that they are not made in vain, but that 
the number of Evangelical ministers in this great 
valley, as in all the country, has increased during the 
last forty years in a ratio still more rapid than has 
been reached by the increase of population. And so 
of church buildings, schools, colleges, theological insti- 
tutions, etc. Everywhere we are permitted to see a 
great advance in the agencies of light and truth. 

We look back over the same period to see how the 
case stands abroad. Has the mission field in heathen 
and other unevangelized lands kept pace with the 
field at home, in its growth and calls for Christian 
labor? In its increase of population we of course 
see no great advance ; the nations of the East are 



A D. 1832-1872. 143 

mostly stationary in this respect ; some of them, the 
Chinese and Hindus for instance, could not well be 
more numerous than they have long been in the 
countries occupied by them. But in those nations, 
with reference to the number of souls reached by the 
missionary agencies of the Christian Church, the last 
forty years have witnessed truly wonderful progress. 
In 1832 India was but partially open to missionary 
labor ; Siam and China, hardly at all ; Japan, not at 
all ; Western Asia and Northern Africa, only begin- 
ning to be explored by missionaries ; Western Africa, 
open and yet almost inaccessible through the influence 
of the traffic in slaves ; South America and Mexico, 
closed and barred by Rome. Some of the islands of the 
seas could be reached. South Africa was partly open, 
South India was also open in part, and some of our 
Indian tribes were receiving the Gospel from mission- 
aries. In general, we see several hundred millions of 
people now within full access, who then could not be 
reached at all, or but with great difficulty and risk of 
life. In this respect, hardly any period of the same 
length, about the life-time of one generation, has 
been marked by greater changes, by political, com- 
mercial, and religious movements, all directly tending 
to encourage the Church in her great work of Mis- 
sions. 

Other considerations tend to the same result. In 
the journeys made by missionaries, for instance — 
China can be reached now in weeks instead of months, 
as formerly; one of our missionaries was nearly four 
months in going from Calcutta in 1834 to Lodiana; now 



144 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

the same journey can be made in three or four days. 
Still more might we specify signs of progress in the 
conversion of souls, in the Christian training of 
heathen youth, in the staff of native missionary 
laborers, in the translations of the Bible. In these 
and other respects, the work abroad has certainly 
made a great advance since 1832. Hardly less im- 
portant is the advance in the recognition of Christian 
duty, the adoption of right principles and methods, 
the enlistment of personal effort among the churches 
of this country in their relations to this cause ; and 
we may refer especially to our own Church, now 
standing unitedly on ground not then taken by many. 
As the result of these interior convictions of the peo- 
ple of God, we must hope for stronger and wiser 
labors in time to come. 

At home and abroad, therefore, we see great prog- 
ress. We are grateful to God for what we see, and 
are encouraged to expect still greater results. And 
yet we can not survey the work without deep concern. 
The harvest is still plenteous, and the laborers are 
few. What are less than two hundred ministers, 
European and American, native and foreign, for the 
people of China? The Chinese are tenfold more nu- 
merous than the people of our country, and the 
laborers are fewer there than here by some hundred- 
fold, or as 200 to over 40,000. In so many years, 
what vast multitudes of our fellow-men have gone to 
the grave without having heard of Christ ! Even 
now, what great numbers are crossing the narrow 
space of life with ourselves, who know as little of the 



A.D. 1832-1872. 145 

way of salvation as did their forefathers, and who 
must be made to know it by the Christians now living, 
if they ever know it at all ! Herein is our responsi- 
bility. Herein too is a large part of our discourage- 
ment, that we, as followers of Christ, seem to be 
feeling so little concern for these perishing people. 
Yet we must go further if we would understand all 
the discouragement, even down to the depths of 
heathen depravity. Their utter alienation from God, 
their debased condition for the most part in morals 
and life, their complete want of everything that the 
Gospel brings to men, their dislike of the Gospel 
itself in its spiritual claims upon them — these are dis- 
couraging indeed. How powerless is all human effort 
to save these lost souls ! But in God is our help, and 
their help — in his grace abounding more than our 
common sin and ruin ; and our hope of success is in 
the promises of God. Success is sure. The Word of 
the Lord hath made it sure to our faith. 

Let us be gracious laborers ourselves, strong in 
faith, mighty in prayer ; let earnest zeal for God and 
pity for men inspire the Church of Christ in all its 
own members, and he who writes a paper like this in 
191 2 will write with thanksgiving of the wonderful 
progress of the kingdom of Christ in all the world. 



146 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

XL. 
THE MOHAMMEDANS. 

THE general drift of public events in this day be- 
tokens great changes among the Mohammedans. It 
is not believed that the Turkish Empire can long 
stand, pecuniarily bankrupt as it is, hopelessly divided 
in the religious elements of its population, and evi- 
dently upheld for a time only through the inter- 
national jealousy of the Great Powers of Europe. Per- 
sia is coming under liberalizing influences to some 
degree. The sway of Russia is extending in North- 
eastern Asia. Northern Africa is feeling the force of 
European ideas. The 40,000,000 of Mohammedans 
in India make, perhaps, a half of the whole number, 
for the followers of Mohammed, we may believe, are 
largely overestimated by most writers ; and these 
Hindu Mohammedans are, like their countrymen, 
more and more influenced by modern ideas based in 
the Christian religion. In Afghanistan and Beloo- 
chistan we see fewer signs of change than elsewhere. 
In general we may regard Mohammedan political and 
persecuting power as waning. Some think Rev. xvi. 
12 is now fulfilling in the drying up of the water in 
" the great river Euphrates," for centuries under Mo- 
hammedan power. Drying up is a process of gradual 
diminution and loss of force. 

Mohammedanism itself, however, will remain what 
it always has been, except as restrained from without ; 



THE MOHAMMEDANS. 147 

yet marked changes have taken place in its condition, 
and others seem to be near at hand. Some of these 
changes have opened the door of access for the Gos- 
pel to millions of this people ; others have but sub- 
stituted one exclusive power for another, the Greek 
Church of Russia being no friend to religious tolera- 
tion. And were Turkey in Asia to fall under Rus- 
sian control, it is far from being certain that our mis- 
sionaries would enjoy as much liberty as they do now ; 
it is even probable that their evangelizing work would 
be seriously hindered, if not terminated. We see 
how deeply important to our missionary work are the 
public events of the hour. 

The Lord reigns in grace. We look, therefore, 
for changes favorable to the Gospel among the Mo- 
hammedans. At any rate we may pray for such 
changes. And our missionaries may well address to 
this people, directly and personally, the Gospel mes- 
sage whenever they have the opportunity of doing so. 
Our plans of reaching them through schools, through 
books, through the elevation of corrupt oriental 
churches, are all of greater or less value, and a large 
work is going forward in these respects ; but as op- 
portunity offers, the followers of Mohammed ought 
to be directly and personally addressed as lost and 
perishing sinners, for whom Christ is the only Saviour. 
This our missionaries are doing, and cases not a few 
of hopeful conversion have been reported from India ; 
some also from Persia and Syria. 

These thoughts on so great a subject, brief as they 
are, will yet be of use if they serve to suggest the 



148 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

need of particular prayers for Mohammedans, and 
for others under their rule, as well as for our mission- 
aries among them. 



XLI. 
ORGANIZED OPPOSING FORCES. 

What is the prospect, in general, of our missionary 
work at the present time [1876] in the three depart- 
ments of the field — Roman, Mohammedan, and 
Pagan ? It is only a general reply that can be given 
here to this question. 

Towards Rome the course of events is undoubt- 
edly adverse ; but its discouragement in Italy, Ger- 
many, and France has had the effect of sending many 
priests," brothers," nuns, etc., to other countries — many 
to this country, some even to Gaboon. Its home re- 
sources, however, have been greatly weakened in the 
last few years, especially in France, its chief source 
of pecuniary supplies. And the ridiculous attitude 
of the Pope, claiming to be a prisoner, while living 
in a splendid palace, from which he may go out at 
his pleasure, must more and more tend to demoralize 
his forces. It is remarkable, and most encouraging, 
to see what access is now given to preach the Gospel 
in Mexico, South America, Italy, and other countries 
in Europe ; we rejoice in the efficient evangelizing 
labors of Protestants in Belgium, France, and Italy. 
The work of the Waldensian Church in Italy is full 



ORGANIZED OPPOSING FORCES. 149 

of encouragement. But there is still vitality enough 
in Romanism to make it one of the greatest human ad- 
versaries of the Gospel. For its sincere adherents, as 
for all in deep error, we should- cherish only feelings 
of kindness. The other nominally Christian churches 
afford many points worthy of notice, but must here 
be passed over with the remark, that the difficult 
work of their enlightenment seems to be making 
sure though not rapid progress. Even the followers 
of the Greek Church, who are not often accessible by 
missionaries, are coming more within reach of the 
Sacred Scriptures. 

Mohammedanism is said to be extending in equa- 
torial Africa, but it is declining in its chief seats of 
power, Turkey, Persia, and India. Some fanatical 
sects seem to be gaining followers and influence in 
India and Persia ; but in nearly all Mohammedan 
countries the movement of public affairs tends to 
weaken the power of this religion. 

The heathen religions are often said to be effete, 
or even dying out. This may be true as to their po- 
litical force, but they have a strong influence over 
their followers from habit, usage, association ; and 
their basis in human nature remains of course un- 
changed. This natural aversion to what is holy 
and inclination to what is evil is not to be cured by 
outward agencies. Much as the followers of paganism 
may be brought under providential restraints, we need 
not be surprised at outbreaks of violence from time 
to time. The patient Chinese can perpetrate deeds 
of atrocity, as in the recent days of the Taipings ; the 



ISO MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

polish of manner in Japan is but lacquer, hardly 
concealing great wickedness ; the Hindu " mildness " 
was capable of the Sepoy mutiny, and India may 
again see in public events the desperate depravity of 
the human heart. It is only divine grace, the power 
of the Almighty Spirit, that can change the heart of 
man anywhere. That grace it is the object of our 
missionaries to make known to every creature. 



XLII. 

CHURCH-WORK FOR ROMAN CATHOLICS. 

To many it seems harsh to class Roman Catholics 
with the unevangelized, as needing the labors of for- 
eign missionaries. Are they not Christians ? And 
do they not hold many of the great truths of the 
Christian religion ? Yes, they are Christians as too 
many Protestants are — by name, by profession ; nor 
ought we to deny that some Roman Catholics are 
evangelical in their religious views. But for the most 
part, while holding important truths of revelation, 
they also hold such great errors as completely over- 
lay or neutralize these truths. For example, they 
observe the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's 
Supper ; but they add to them five other sacraments, 
while these two in their administration are seriously 
changed from the simple order of the Scriptural sac- 
raments ; and in their meaning they are regarded as 
passports to heaven, no matter what may be the 



CHURCH- WORK FOR ROMAN CA THOLICS. 1 5 1 

moral character of those who receive them. It can 
not be doubted that most Romanists expect salva- 
tion because of their outward conformity to the re- 
quirements of this Church, and make little or nothing 
of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, faith in Christ 
alone, and a life of evangelical service to God and 
man. Most of them are ignorant of the Scriptures, 
and are not permitted to read them ; most of them 
are in bondage to their priests ; most of them, priests 
and people alike, need to be taught the way of salva- 
tion. It is not our object here to dwell on the great 
errors and evils of Romanism. We believe it to be 
in all its aspects, religious, political, social, a dreadful 
system of evil. Alas, what great numbers of our 
fellow-men are under its power ! We pity them 
deeply, and pray for them. We would give the Gos- 
pel to them as the greatest blessing. And we are 
grateful that our Church has been led to regard mis- 
sions to Romanists as a proper part of its Church- 
work. 

This work should be under the direction of the 
Church itself, and not of mere Societies ; for the same 
reasons that have led our Christian people to place 
other foreign missions and all home missions under 
this direction. Thereby we are in the line of the 
great commission of the Church, and so may best 
hope for the presence of our Lord with his servants 
in their efforts to preach the Gospel to every creature. 
Thereby we have the best security that the Gospel 
will be preached in its purity and its fulness, and this 
by men called and qualified for this great work. 



152 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Thereby we have the best guaranty against errors 
and evils that spring up more readily in an unevan- 
gelized than in a Christian country. A strong argu- 
ment for our Presbyterian views of doctrine, church 
order and discipline, can be drawn from their practical 
development on missionary ground, as in the first age 
of Christianity. Thereby, moreover, we simplify our 
home administration of the work of missions, and 
avoid much expense for executive service, and much 
embarrassment to our churches from the multiplica- 
tion of societies and collections. The views here 
merely suggested have been long held as earnest con- 
victions, formed without any reference to matters of 
recent occurrence. 

Leaving theory for practice, the Presbyterian Church 
is seeking the salvation of Roman Catholics : in this 
country, by all our ministers of the Gospel, by all 
our home ministries for the spiritual welfare of our 
countrymen ; abroad, in two ways. I. By aiding our 
brethren in papal countries — Belgium, France, Italy, 
for instance — -who hold substantially the same relig- 
ious views and hopes with ourselves, to spread the 
knowledge of the Gospel among their countrymen. 
These brethren, few in number, and having but very 
limited pecuniary means at their command, are yet 
admirably situated and well qualified, far better than 
any foreigners could be, for conducting missionary 
labors amongst their own people. They earnestly 
desire our assistance. And truly wonderful are the 
orderings of Providence within the last few years, 
opening the door before them in a way that should 



A ROM ANT ST MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 153 

arrest the attention of the whole Christian Church. 
2. By sending missionaries to the countries on our 
own continent that are still known as Roman Catholic 
— such as Brazil, United States of Colombia, Central 
America, Mexico, etc. We stand in special relations 
to the inhabitants of these countries. Great changes 
are going on amongst them, all tending to the over- 
throw of Romanism, and in important respects favor- 
ing the introduction of the Gospel. 

The missionary work of the Board in Europe, as 
outlined above, and its missions in South America, 
particularly in Brazil, have already met with mani- 
fest tokens of the approval of God. And now the 
time has come for enlarging our efforts, for sending 
our European brethren more liberal aid, and for send- 
ing out new laborers to these American countries. 
They will not long remain under the bondage of 
Rome ; they are already breaking their fetters. We 
should pray and labor that their coming freedom may 
not be the license of infidelity, but the blessed liberty 
wherewith Christ makes his people free. 



XLIII. 

A ROMANIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 

Similar effects may proceed from the most 
opposite causes. Men may give moneys for charita- 
ble purposes from ostentation or from benevolence. 
The actions may appear equally good in the sight of 

7* 



1 54 MISSIONAR Y PA PERS. 

men ; in the eye of God there may be a vast differ- 
ence between them. The Pharisees could " compass 
sea and land to make one proselyte"; the Apostles 
themselves could do no more. Not to dwell on so 
common a truth, this remark may be made — that 
even the Apostles would not hesitate to learn lessons 
from the zeal and the worldly wisdom of the Phari- 
sees ; they would abhor the spirit of those self-right- 
eous Jews ; they would altogether condemn the object 
for which the Pharisees were so zealous; they would 
deplore the success of their measures, but they might 
be stimulated by their example in a bad cause, to 
greater zeal in the service of their own gracious Lord. 
Keeping this distinction in mind, some account may 
be here given of a Romanist Missionary Society. 

This Society is called L CEuvre de la Propagation 
de la Foi ; it was formed at Lyons, in France, in the 
year 1822 ; and its object is "to assist, by prayers and 
alms, the [Roman] Catholic Missionaries, charged to 
preach the Gospel to foreign nations." The "bond of 
union among the members is simply to recite a very 
short prayer every day, and to give a weekly subscrip- 
tion of one sou (less than a cent) toward the support 
of the Missions." Branches of this Society "have 
spread through Belgium, Holland, Portugal, Switzer- 
land, Savoy, Piedmont, Italy, Germany, Russia, and 
the Levant." It has " lately penetrated Great Britain." 
It publishes periodical annals six times a year, for the 
use of the members, every collector of about five dol- 
lars being entitled to a copy free of charge, which he 
is required to allow those who subscribe freely to pe- 



A ROMANIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY. 155 

ruse ; and editions are now circulated in six different 
languages. Its conductors speak boastingly of its ex- 
tension and success. And well they may, for " pre- 
viously to May, 1838, it had collected upward of 
,£200,000," or $1,000,000; its receipts for the year 
then ending were nearly ,£40,000, or $200,000 ; its 
missions are about eighty in number, fourteen of which 
are in these United States ; and, what its managers 
call attention to with the emphasis of italic letters, 
quoting "the words of the Supreme Head of the 
Church, " it is, " in the midst of the afflictions that 
oppress him, the consolation reserved to his heart ; its 
successes are his joy" etc. Let the Pope rejoice in 
this Society. Its organization is simple, general, and 
effective. 

The manner of collecting the subscriptions to this 
Society is worthy of consideration. The first rule of 
the British Branch relates to the Pater and Ave prayers, 
which each member is to "recite" ; the second is, " to 
contribute to the funds of the Society one half- 
penny per week." These half-pence are thus managed : 
" One member is charged to receive the contributions 
of ten subscribers, the amount of which he hands over 
to another member, who receives ten similar contri- 
butions, that is, one hundred half-pence ; and he, in 
his turn, gives the entire sum to a third member, 
authorized to receive ten such subscriptions, that is, 
one thousand half-pence." " Donations by persons 
not members, or by members over and above their 
ordinary subscriptions, may be received by any of the 
collectors." And the whole sum, business, etc., are 



1 56 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

managed by a Council, " whose services are essentially 
gratuitous." Yet the members of the Council are, no 
doubt, men whose support is provided by the Roman 
Church — bishops and other ecclesiastics. The income 
of this Society has been slowly increasing. Last year, 
1880, it was about the same as was given to foreign 
missions by a single Protestant denomination in En- 
gland. 

We may note, 1. The aim of the Society to secure 
gifts from all classes, which, of course, is important ; 
yet, to ask the same amount from rich and poor alike 
does not accord with the divine rule in 1 Cor. xvi. 2. 
2. The power of many littles. 3. The use of "free" 
missionary magazines. 4. This Romanist example 
does not seem to favor the idea, which is advocated 
by some Protestants, — that of merging all missionary 
Boards and Societies in one organization. It is an 
impracticable idea among Protestants ; and if it were 
practicable, it would certainly be disappointing, lessen- 
ing, and otherwise injurious to the cause of missions. 
5. In examining these magazines one does not see 
much stress laid on what the Society is going to do ; 
there is a wise reserve as to some things. 6. Alas, 
for the motive, so often avowed ! Mariolatry seems to 
supersede the religion of Christ our Lord. External 
rites are magnified, etc. 



LIFE OF FRANCIS XA VIER. 157 

XLIV. 
LIFE OF FRANCIS XAVIER. 

THE FAILURE OF ROMISH MISSIONS TO THE HEATHEN. 

The life of Xavier is one of much interest to gen- 
eral readers, and of special value to those who are en- 
gaged in the work of Christian missions.* Heretofore, 
however, his memoirs have repelled readers of sobriety 
by taking them into the region of fables. His history 
has been quite overlaid with legends. 

A list of ten miracles alleged to have been wrought 
by him is given on pages 98 and 99 of this volume. 
Three of these were cases of restoring the dead to life, 
one of giving sight to the blind, but others were less 
Scripture-like. One was his turning salt water into 
sweet, by making the sign of the cross. Another was 
his being lifted a cubit from the ground while cele- 
brating mass. Another was the remarkable conduct 
of a sea-crab, which jumped out of the sea upon the 
shore, ran (festinans accurrif), with a crucifix in its 
claws, that had been lost in the sea, stood before 
Xavier, and waited till he took the crucifix, and then 
went back into the sea ! These ten miracles were put 
on record, as a part of the reasons of his canonization, 
by Pope Gregory XV.. Subsequently the number of 



* The Missionary Life and Labors of Francis Xavier, taken from 
his Correspondence, with a Sketch of the General Results of Roman 
Catholic Missions among the Heathen. By Henry Venn, D.D. 
London : 1863. 



1 58 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

miracles attributed to him was almost indefinitely in- 
creased by his Romish biographers. The author sub- 
jects some of the earlier reports of these miracles, 
including some of those that were titles to his canoni- 
zation, to a careful scrutiny — tracing them back from 
one source to another, until he reaches Xavier's own 
account of the matter, and thus almost reproducing 
the story of the three black crows ! Certainly, he has 
rendered a great service to the memory of the cele- 
brated missionary ; for his own accounts were always 
truthful, if they were sometimes warmly colored, 
while the legends of his biographers are often extrav- 
agant and incredible. Dismissing the biographers, the 
author examined carefully Xavier's letters, which are 
numerous, and which have an interesting literary his- 
tory. From these letters he has constructed a clear 
and trustworthy biography — one which must hence- 
forth be authoritative. 

" Xavier was born April 7, 1506, in Navarre, and 
was related, on his mother's side, to the kings of that 
country and to the family of the Bourbons. He was 
in early life brought somewhat in connection with 
Protestant teachers, the first of his letters expressing 
thanks that he was rescued from their influence. 
When this letter was written, March 24, 1535, he was 
in the University of Paris, and his friendship with the 
hardly more celebrated Ignatius Loyola had already 
become intimate. This friendship shaped his subse- 
quent career. He was one of the six friends to whom 
Loyola, in 1534, imparted his project of an association, 
which has since shaken many nations, but never for 



LIFE OF FRANCIS XA VIER. 159 

good — the Society of Jesus, or the Jesuits. The first 
inception of this association was marked by singleness 
of object, the conversion e>f unbelievers, and the seven 
friends renounced all worldly possessions for its ful- 
filment. Little did they know themselves ! Far less 
could they predict the unprincipled proceedings of 
their successors, ' for the greater glory of God.' 

" Loyola desired to send his friend to the Holy Land 
as his field of labor, but he was led to acquiesce in his 
going out to the East Indies. Before his departure 
he was admitted to interviews with the King of Por- 
tugal, then one of the most powerful of European 
monarchs, and he went out under his patronage ; 
afterwards he was made director of the Jesuit missions 
in the East, and royal Commissioner from the King 
of Portugal. He was from the first Papal Nuncio, 
and accompanied the new Viceroy of Goa as a guest 
at his table. He is spoken of as a missionary, but 
how different was his position from that of Protestant 
or even of Romanist missionaries at the present day ! 

" We can not follow minutely his course. in the East. 
The author divides his labors into four periods: 1, 
Three years were spent in South India ; 2, Two years 
and a half in the Chinese Archipelago, mostly on a 
voyage to different places ; 3, Four years, in managing 
his India missions, a voyage to Japan, a two years' resi- 
dence there, and a return to India ; 4, About a year in 
India, and in an attempt to enter China. This attempt 
was unsuccessful, and while making it his life reached 
its end. He spent, therefore, only a dozen years on mis- 
sionary ground, but they were years marked by great 



160 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

activity, a restless energy, and a thorough devotedness 
to his object, such as is rarely seen among men, and 
such as rebukes the easy life of too many missionaries 
of a purer faith. We can not commend his method 
or plan of proceeding as an evangelist ; neither can 
we approve of many things in his conduct ; but he 
was undoubtedly a sincere and earnest man. We look 
on his life with a certain admiration, but with greater 
pity, and with not a little indignation; the explana- 
tion of much in his history is found in the fact that 
he was a Romanist missionary. He well represented 
a Church that employs secular policy, military power, 
the terrors of the Inquisition, to spread its reign ; and 
that relies far more for the conversion of souls on 
ritualistic ceremonies than on the preaching of the 
Gospel. 

" What were the results of his missionary life and 
labors ? This question brings us to the great lesson 
of the book, or rather of the life of this great man. 
It is the Scripture lesson, that nothing will convert 
the heathen but the Word and Spirit of God. Even 
to the labors of Paul or of Apollos, we know that no 
success will be given, except by the power of the 
Holy Ghost. How vain is it, then, to expect success 
as the fruit of secular policy and ceremonial zeal. 

" We know the opinion of some writers, that Xavier 
converted many thousands of the heathen. His great 
success is sometimes cited to the disparagement of 
the humble fruits of Protestant missionaries. This 
erroneous opinion is founded on the legendary life of 
Xavier, not on his own letters. These teach a very 



LIFE OF FRANCIS XA VIER. 161 

different story. He even abandoned India in despair 
of success, and the Abbe Dubois, himself for many 
years a missionary in India, after referring to Xavier' s 
want of success, avows his belief that the Hindus can 
not be converted ! 

" The latter part of this volume contains a brief but 
valuable review of the results of Romish missions. 
These have been conducted for several hundred years, 
on a vast scale, in many countries, but with hardly 
any permanent success. Witness Ceylon, Japan, and 
other countries. When not upheld by the civil power, 
the religion set up by Romanist missionaries soon 
falls to the ground. It has no principle of life in it. 
It does exert a great influence in perverting men from 
the truth ; it is essentially an apostasy, not a new life, 
but a perversion of the true life which the pure re- 
ligion of Christ imparts. In this sense, it has a malig- 
nant power. But it can not prevent the spread of the 
Gospel ; in the field of the earliest and most extensive 
Romish missions, to which Xavier himself gave most 
of his missionary life, South India, Romanism has 
long been without vitality, while the Gospel is win- 
ning new triumphs every year — many of its converts 
coming from the ranks of the Roman Church." 

Our limited space precludes the insertion of extracts 
from this volume, and does not permit us to call at- 
tention to some of the minor but not unimportant 
lessons which it teaches. But we can not close this 
book without expressing deep regret over a great life 
wasted. Xavier possessed genius of a high order, ad- 
ministrative talent seldom equalled, warm and noble 



1 62 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

affections, and untiring industry. We have felt deeply 
moved by his eloquent appeals for more missionaries 
and greater zeal in the cause ; and few readers of his 
life, Protestant or Romanist, will not feel condemned 
by his self-denial and his devotedness to his work. 
He was, moreover, aided by royal treasures and 
authority, and by the personal influence of the foun- 
der of his order, as his warm friend, an influence of 
great power in kings' palaces and in the Vatican, 
making the resources of the Roman Church largely 
tributary to his success. And yet— all is vanity and 
vexation of spirit ! He died a disappointed man, 
after a life of self-consuming labor, leaving as its re- 
sults nothing good in this world nor in the world to 
come. Happy in comparison with him is the humblest 
missionary, who faithfully preaches Christ and him 
crucified as the only Saviour of his own soul and the 
souls of the perishing heathen ! 



XLV. 

THE HINDUS AND THE BRITISH. 

The general state of feeling among the natives of 
India towards their foreign rulers is a matter of mo- 
ment. It must be conceded, we believe, that there 
is little affection for the British among their Eastern 
subjects. It seems to be impossible that there should 
be, until Christianity prevails. The difference of race, 



THE HINDUS AND THE BRITISH. 163 

of social customs, and of religion is nowhere more 
strongly marked than between Europeans and the 
Hindus. The two peoples hardly ever meet as fami- 
lies ; the tender sympathies of woman in social or 
pure domestic ties do not bind them together. Not 
that any repugnance between them exists, as between 
the white and the colored inhabitants of our own 
land ; but the causes of separation are general, and 
such as are not likely to give way until the spirit of 
the Gospel fuses their hearts in a common mould. 
Then, we see no reason to suppose that the most in- 
timate relations may not exist between the native 
and the European, without loss of social position on 
either side. 

There has been, moreover, in far too many in- 
stances, an ill-considered, overbearing, and sometimes 
unmanly treatment of the natives, which has borne its 
legitimate fruit. Certain Hindu families and their 
adherents, connected with former reigning houses, 
still cherish their " grievance," though they find little 
sympathy from the masses. And there is the Mo- 
hammedan element of the population, sighing for the 
restoration of Islam. There are also many whose in- 
terests have been injured by serious errors in the 
legislative or the administrative measures of the 
Government. And there are the poor villagers, who 
are at times wasted by the march of an army, or the 
progress of the Governor-General's camp, of whose 
sufferings the late Sir Charles Napier took such just 
notice ; though the cause of their sufferings is not 
the one which he leaves his correspondent to infer — 



164 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

the exactions of the English powers that be, but the 
iniquity of the native officials. These native agents 
refuse to pay over to the villager the price of his 
grass and barley without large reduction, and at the 
same time contrive to make it impossible for the poor 
man to carry his complaint to the " Sahib." Until 
lately, moreover, few of the natives were admitted to 
offices of high grade, though large numbers of them 
have long been clerks or writers in all public offices ; 
indeed, few were qualified to fill the more important 
stations. This enumeration will nearly exhibit the 
strength of anti-British feeling in India. And it 
is worthy of note that in some of these cases, the na- 
tives themselves would not expect to gain anything 
by a change of rulers. The poor villager would fare 
worse than he does under the " Company Sahib," as 
to receiving a just compensation for his services. 

On the other side there are reasons and facts of 
great weight to be considered. The Hindus are a 
shrewd, sagacious people in all things affecting their 
personal and pecuniary interests. They can very well 
appreciate the advantage of living under law, as com- 
pared with living under lawless despotism, as in the 
times of their former rulers. They are keenly alive 
to the chances of accumulating property and of its 
safe possession. It is said that Jews can not compete 
with the bazar dealers of Calcutta, though here in 
New York they take possession of Chatham Street. 
No people, moreover, are more sensitive than the 
Hindus to the honor of their families, keeping their 
women, among the higher classes, in the strictest se- 



THE HINDUS AND THE BRITISH. 165 

elusion. How could it be otherwise than that such a 
people would prefer a settled, and in the main equi- 
table government like that of the British, to the state 
of things which always exists under native or Mus- 
sulman rulers? The last old king of the Punjab had 
in his harem hundreds of the most beautiful women 
in his country, and their number was increased by the 
forcible addition of every young woman of superior 
beauty within his reach. If one of his subjects, by 
industry, skill, or enterprise, acquired some property, 
he soon learned that his gains must be shared by 
his rulers, petty and great, until all that remained 
was not worth contending for. The illustrations are 
numberless. Now, under British rule, law reigns in 
the Punjab, as elsewhere, to the infinite advantage of 
nine-tenths of the people. The law is imperfectly 
administered, indeed, and thereby many cases of op- 
pression occur, and many criminals escape deserved 
punishment. Of this the people bitterly complain, 
oftentimes ; but they see, what English and American 
declaimers against the oppressions of the Government 
do not seem to be aware of, that these cases of abuse 
of power are nearly always to be laid to the charge 
of the native officials, or of the state of society 
where any number of witnesses can be hired in the 
next bazar for sixpence each, to swear the most 
solemn oaths. But law imperfectly administered is 
nevertheless to be preferred to no law, and this the 
Hindus well understand. We might easily infer, 
therefore, that if the Hindus do not like the British, 
they are at least far enough from hating them to such 



1 66 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

a degree as to wish for their expulsion from the 
country. 

Signal examples can be given to show the true 
state of native feeling, one of which we will here re- 
late. At one of the missionary stations of our 
Church in Upper India, a native chief was in power 
when the missionary first visited his city, which then 
contained a population of sixteen thousand souls. 
Soon afterwards the old chief died and left no heirs. 
His principality, according to native usage, escheated 
to the paramount power — in this case the British ; if 
his town had been on the other side of the Sutlej, it 
would have fallen in like manner to the miserable old 
king referred to above. British rule was set up, the 
reign of law commenced, people from neighboring 
districts still under native rulers removed to this 
town, and in a few years its population was numbered 
at nearly eighty thousand souls. Facts like these 
confute whole pages of declamation. 

Yet many believe that the natives of India are be- 
coming more and more impoverished under Occiden- 
tal rule. Some ascribe this to one cause, some to 
another. The opium production and traffic ; the in- 
cessant drain of home investments by the British 
rulers continuing for so long a period ; the incubus of 
the system of caste ; — these are among the causes of 
the growing poverty of many classes,whatever the pros- 
perity of others. Yet wise and good men are not all 
agreed as to the opium question. In a note to an able 
series of letters reprinted from The Times on Indian 
topics, by a gentleman of high social and political posi- 



THE HINDUS AND THE BRITISH. 167 

tion, who is at the same time a warm friend of Chris- 
tian missions, it is said: " The tax levied upon opium 
in India, by means of the monopoly, and the tax 
upon spirituous liquors in this country [England] are 
based upon the same principle — that of placing the 
greatest possible check against consumption, by carry- 
ing the tax to the highest point at which it can be 
maintained without encouraging smuggling." On 
this view of the subject, the Government connection 
with the opium traffic tends to restrict its sale as 
compared with its extent if the monopoly were over- 
thrown ; in other words, free trade in opium would 
increase its cultivation. 

The rules of political economy, however, are not 
mathematical axioms, equally true in all nations ; 
what is expedient in England or America may be per- 
nicious in China or India. But we prefer to look at 
the opium traffic as necessarily productive of great 
moral evils. It is greatly worse in its effects upon its 
victims than the African slave trade. The poor slaves 
are often, through the merciful providence of God, in 
bringing good out of evil, placed in better circum- 
stances than before their captivity ; but the victims 
of opium-smoking are debased in mind, body, and 
estate, — made wretched in this life and miserable in 
eternity. We can conceive of no good result from 
this traffic, except in a small degree through the apoth- 
ecary's scales ; while its evils are gigantic. If ever 
a case existed in which a Christian Government should 
interpose its power to put down traffic of any kind, 
this we believe is such a case. We honor the British 



1 68 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

Government for its humane efforts to suppress the 
slave trade, and we hope soon to honor it for suppress- 
ing the cultivation and export of opium. 

Contrary to the opinion of our friend quoted above, 
we have the conviction that but for the influence and 
the pecuniary advances of the Government, in aid of 
the native cultivators, the growth of the poppy would 
be very limited in India. 



XLVL 



THE FIRST DONATION IN INDIA TO THE 
LODIANA MISSION. 

" The Maharajah [great king] seemed very in- 
credulous when the missionary assured him he would 
not appropriate any part of it to his own private use, 
but would transfer the whole of it to the mission ; 
and yet the first contribution acknowledged in the 
first Report of the Lodiana Mission is this khilat, 
valued at Rs. 2183. 10.5" — about $1,100. 

This paragraph refers to the last interview accorded 
by the King of the Punjab in 1835 to one of the early 
missionaries of the Board, when a parting present — 
khilat — was given, according to the usage of the 
court. It consisted of a horse, pieces of silk and 
cotton goods, articles of jewelry, etc., and some 
hundreds of rupees in silver. This incident pos- 
sessed some interest at the time, and it is mentioned 
particularly in " Two Years in Upper India," pages 



THE FIRST DONA TION IN INDIA. 169 

184-186. The reference to it now suggests one or 
two thoughts. 

1. God often favors his cause by his Providence. 
Many examples of this are contained in the Sacred 
Scriptures, and many in the history of the Church. 
In this case, a heathen despotic ruler, a very bad 
man, — avaricious to a degree, immoral above most 
men, — was led to make a dispone! of a small part of 
his great riches, so as to give roal, and at the time 
much needed aid to the missionary work. He meant 
it not so, but so it was ordered to come to pass. 
And no doubt many examples could be given in 
every mission field, as well as in every Christian life, 
of the unexpected interposition of God's hand in 
aid of his people and their efforts to do good. In 
this we find a source of great encouragement. 

2. It is difficult sometimes not so much to be disin- 
terested, as to appear to be so. In this case, to refuse 
the king's present would have given great offence, 
and in the circumstances would have been attended 
with much danger ; to accept it, on the other hand, 
was to incur the risk of weakening Christian influ- 
ence, as if the missionary were governed by merce- 
nary motives. No thought of keeping it for private 
use was entertained, but some solicitude was felt as 
to the effect of receiving it at all. The risk of losing 
proper influence, however, was averted by the kind- 
ness of an English friend, who took charge of the 
khilat, and remitted its pecuniary avails' to the finan- 
cial agents of the Missionary Board, in a way that 
measurably prevented the case from being misunder- 

8 



170 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

stood by the natives ; but the horse remained in the 
service of the mission for several years. One of the 
articles, not sold at Lodiana, was sent to this coun- 
try, and its sale here added $50 to the sum above 
mentioned, as a donation to the Board. 

It was a small matter indeed ; but little things 
often exemplify important truths. To avoid the 
appearance of evil is a sacred duty everywhere, but 
especially on missionary ground, and among the 
closely watching heathen. To be disinterested is 
the best way of appearing to be. It is needless to 
add that this is a trait or a grace, which all connected 
with the cause of missions, at home or abroad, should 
clearly manifest. To be disinterested is to be like 
Christ, and like the Apostles. It is one of the essen- 
tial things in missionary work. 

3. Great are the changes witnessed in a few years. 
The old Sikh king and his semi-barbaric splendor 
have passed away. A Christian Government rules 
over the Punjab. Missionary labors are in full prog- 
ress with their blessed results at Lahor, Umritsar, 
and other cities, which at the date of this incident 
could hardly be visited by any European or American. 
The Lord reigns. The shields of the earth belong 
unto God : he is greatly exalted. 



A PARSER CEMETERY. 171 

XLVII. 
A PARSEE CEMETERY. 

On a hill about three miles from Bombay, a circular 
building is erected as a place of burial. It is about 
twenty feet high, and open at the top, with a diameter 
of fifty or sixty feet. Within there is a smooth pave- 
ment sloping to the centre. The bodies are laid on 
this pavement, which is divided into three distinct 
parts or rows, the outer for men, the middle for 
women, and the inner for children. The bodies are 
exposed naked to the sun and the rain, and are often 
destroyed by vultures and other birds of prey ; the 
bones are left to fall into a well or pit in the centre. 

This is a singular kind of burial, and one that is 
very repulsive to our feelings. We are led to inquire, 
By whom is it practiced ? We answer not by sav- 
ages, nor by an uncivilized tribe, but by a people who 
in some respects are the most enlightened in India. 

The Parsees went to the western provinces of India 
about a thousand years ago. Their original home 
was Persia. The ancient Persians were worshippers 
of fire, and when conquered by the Mohammedans, 
some of them fled to other countries. 

They were worshippers of fire in general, and par- 
ticularly of the sun, which the more intelligent among 
them regarded as the visible image of the Creator. 
The Parsees still worship the same object, and great 
numbers of them may be seen at Bombay and Surat 



172 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

late in the afternoon, paying their homage to the 
setting sun. 

They admit two principles, one the cause of all 
good, Orasmades ; and the other, Ahriman, the cause 
of all evil ; the one represented by light, and the 
other by darkness. Their sacred books, the Zend- 
Avesta, contain many moral precepts and useful direc- 
tions. Zoroaster, their founder, seems in some re- 
spects to have resembled the great Chinese moralist, 
Confucius, enjoining reverence for parents, the king, 
and old age, teaching usef uf lessons of morality, and 
making more of the temporal welfare of his followers 
than of their spiritual and eternal interests. 

The Parsees are an industrious, enterprising, and 
prospering people, superior to the Hindus in various 
mechanical and mercantile pursuits, some of them 
acquiring great wealth ; and they are more liberal in 
their views, and more ready to adopt the customs of 
European nations. But they do not seem more will- 
ing to receive the humbling doctrines of the Chris- 
tian religion. Their self-righteousness is a great 
hinderance. And while they do not follow the 
grosser forms' of idolatry, like the Hindus, they are 
not better acquainted with the true God and eternal 
life. Their dying hours are cheered by no bright 
hopes of future life. Their burial-place is in the 
midst of beautiful views of land and sea, but all 
within is repulsive, and all beyond is darkness. It is 
no gate of entrance, like the Christian's peaceful grave, 
to " a better country, even an heavenly." 

A few of the Parsees have become hopeful converts 



AFRICA INLAND. 173 

under missionary labor. And we know from the 
Word of God, that the Gospel is the only and the all- 
sufficient means of making men of every tribe ac- 
quainted with the way of life. It is the only light 
that can take away the gloom of a burial-place, and 
fill the mind with pleasing views of the future world, 
— making those who receive it at times even to u de- 
sire to depart and to be with Christ." Let our readers 
prize this heavenly light, and labor to extend its 
blessings to those who are sitting in darkness and the 
shadow of death. 



XLVIII. 
AFRICA INLAND— PROTECTORATE OF THE CONGO. 

FOR many long years our churches have been try- 
ing to reach the interior of Africa by their missionary 
agencies. Repeated efforts have been made by reso- 
lute and specially qualified men to push their way in- 
land. The late Rev. James L. Mackey, of ourCorisco 
Mission, fitted far beyond most men to succeed in 
such an enterprise, being acquainted with the African 
people, knowing some of their languages, acclimated, 
energetic, conciliatory, admirable in common sense, 
was yet unsuccessful. On one of his journeys he was 
accompanied by a gentleman, employed in the interest 
of natural history, who was supplied by the King of 
Holland with everything except military force to en- 
sure the best results, but their joint effort was fruit- 



174 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

less. The difficulties are partly climatic — intense 
heat, often incessant rains, etc. ; partly the want of 
roads, conveyance, food, and shelter; chiefly the 
jealousy of each native ruler and his people, always 
unwilling to permit visitors to go beyond their towns. 
They wish to secure for themselves every advantage, 
real or imaginary, to be derived from the presence of 
strangers ; or else their suspicions and fears as to the 
object of such travellers impose an almost impene- 
trable barrier to their progress. 

Stanley's grand journey on the river Congo, almost 
from its source to its outlet, gives a new impulse to 
all Interior Africa questions ; but it does not settle 
clearly the steps to be immediately taken by Mis- 
sionary Boards. One thing they clearly can not do. 
They can not send missionaries accompanied by sol- 
diers for their protection, or what is equivalent, by 
armed retainers. Another thing seems to be clear — 
they can not send missionary families far from their 
base of supplies ; nor even single men, ordinarily, 
without reasonable hope of safety to life, and of suffi- 
cient personal comfort to keep off sickness and to 
supply their daily bread. 

We are referring to access to the interior from the 
western coast. We greatly honor our Scotch and 
English brethren for their noble efforts to reach the 
great lake country from the eastern side of Africa, 
and we trust the sad losses of life incurred will soon 
be followed by safe progress. But for our American 
churches Providence seems to order the duty of enter- 
ing the dark country from the western side, in order 



AFRICA INLAND. 175 

to reach the tribes in the western part of the conti- 
nent, and especially those from which our Africo- 
Americans came as slaves. So viewing the subject, 
our first duty is to strengthen our stations on the 
coast, particularly Gaboon, Corisco, Benita, and to 
form new stations when practicable, north and south. 
Here is our base line of supplies for the present, 
especially for the supply of trained and educated 
native Christians, who shall be ready and qualified in 
due time to take up the line of march for the interior. 
Next we should keep our eye on the rivers, likely to 
be the best highways for some years. Our Ogovi 
station is a step inland. Other places on the same 
river, and perhaps on the lower Congo, may soon be 
within reach. Vigilant watch, moreover, should be 
kept on civil, political, exploring, and commercial 
movements, with the purpose of utilizing them, each 
and all, in the service of Christian missions. 

We think our friends would do well, as opportunity 
occurs, to urge on the attention of our public men 
the importance of establishing a Protectorate over 
the river Congo, very much as formerly a Protectorate 
was maintained on the western coast against the rav- 
ages of the slave trade. Let our Government, Great 
Britain, France, and any other Powers, unite in main- 
taining a few armed steamers on this river, and keep 
open roadways around its falls. This measure should 
be taken, not for political jurisdiction, nor for exclu- 
sive commercial settlements, but, 1. For the suppres- 
sion of the terrible traffic in slaves. 2. For the pur- 
poses of ligitimate commerce, open and free to all. 



176 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

The staples of industry in those vast regions are very- 
valuable ; a great demand would spring up for manu- 
factured goods ; free trade, profitable alike to natives 
and foreigners, would be developed. 3. The expense 
of maintaining this Protectorate would be small. 
Were this measure adopted, as we trust it soon will 
be, then missionaries and their schools, the printing 
press, the native Church and its well-trained ministry, 
in short, the Word of God, the Gospel, would turn 
this dark land into a land of light and peace. 

These thoughts invest our missions in Africa with 
increasing interest. We may not be able at once to 
send missionaries far into the interior, but we should 
stand ready to go in and possess the land as soon as 
Providence shall open the door. And we trust it is 
opening. We have some native men in training ; we 
hope for many more. More men from this country 
are also greatly needed. 



XLIX. 

MISSIONS TO THE CHINESE IN THIS COUNTRY. 

THE plans of missionary work for any unevangelized 
people should have reference to their number, their 
character and circumstances, the supply of laborers, 
etc. As to the first of these — in twenty-five years 
two hundred and thirty-five thousand Cantonese — no 
other Chinese — have come here. Of these, about 
one-tenth have died, and ninety-seven thousand have 



MISSIONS TO THE CHINESE. 177 

returned to their own country. There may be in this 
country now, in 1877, about one hundred and fifteen 
thousand Chinese. It is not likely that this number 
will be largely increased — an opinion which, we think, 
can be clearly sustained, but we do not dwell upon it 
The net result of twenty-five years of this Chinese 
immigration is much smaller than tke influx of Irish 
or of Germans in a single year, repeatedly. In the 
next place, as to their character and circumstances — 
they are mostly young men, or men without their 
wives, seeking to make money, contented with small 
gains, and settled in their purpose of going home to 
China. There are hardly any families, few women, 
fewer children. Many Chinese are found in San 
Francisco and neighboring places, but most of them 
are widely scattered, and move often from place to 
place. They all mean to go back to their native villages 
And in the third place, if we are correctly informed, 
six of our leading denominations are already engaged 
in missionary work for these Chinese visitors, or will 
be so engaged in a short time. Five or more min- 
isters are now, or soon will be, giving most of their 
time to it ; several devoted Christian women are em- 
ployed as missionaries, and a number of native Chris- 
tian assistants — -a goodly company. Besides these, 
many of our pastors and church members are giving 
their invaluable influence and effort to bring the 
Chinese in the vicinity of their churches, respectively, 
to a saving knowledge of Christ. Let us not under- 
rate nor understate the efforts actually in progress. 
Rather let us be thankful for so much that is well 



1 78 MISSION A R Y PAPERS. 

begun, and working well for the best results. Not a 
few of the Chinese have been converted. Several 
have been prepared for usefulness, and employed 
among their own people, both in this country and in 
China. The work of the Presbyterian mission for 
many years has been singularly prospered, and has 
exerted a widely-spread influence ; no other agency 
has so much leavened the minds of these people with 
Gospel truth, and done so much to awaken among 
them kindly feelings towards the Christian religion. 
Those who speak disparagingly of this work show how 
little they understand it, and incur a grave responsi- 
bility. 

We now add " a few remarks " : 

1. Missionary work for these Chinese must be 
recognized as the common work, of our American 
churches. It is no longer the work of one denomina- 
tion. And yet as it was the privilege of our Church 
to begin this work, as we are still doing most in it, 
and as God has greatly favored our labors, we should 
be encouraged to go onward. 

2. The chief general interest of this work grows out 
of its connection with the evangelization of the prov- 
ince of Canton. There are over twenty millions of 
souls in that one province, and there are but few 
missionaries among them. The main supply of native 
laborers must be trained up there ; but some of those 
who are converted and trained in our country, will, as 
we hope, carry the Gospel to their native land. This 
training must be done here just as it is done in Canton 
— mainly by the personal instruction and example of 



MISSIONS TO THE CHINESE. 179 

missionaries who can use their language. We are in 
danger of making too much of their learning En- 
glish ; this to native laborers in China is considered a 
very doubtful qualification, as all experience shows. 
Here in our country we may teach them English as a 
means of keeping them in connection with our Chris- 
tian people, and in the hope of their conversion ; but 
for best influence, for contented evangelizing labor, 
and for expense of living not beyond the ability of 
the native churches in self-support, their training must 
be, first, in the vernacular, and, second, in most cases 
in their own country. Let these converted Cantonese, 
at any rate, whether here or at home, be trained for 
evangelizing work, just as are converts amongst other 
peoples, just as were the first Christians. Happily 
these sensible, practical Chinese care very little for 
costly buildings, and they little need expensive en- 
dowments for their best instruction. Our American 
system of theological instruction may suit an ad- 
vanced condition of the Christian Church, but not the 
first stages of evangelizing work amongst a heathen 
people. This remark is one of wide bearing, but we 
think its correctness will not be called in question. 
What our Chinese need is preaching to many or few, 
chiefly by native ministers, patient as well as godly 
teachers — American or native, and Christian sym- 
pathy. This sympathy will go far to counteract the 
miserable ". Hoodlum " spirit of the times. Already 
examples may be found where to be known as " a 
Loomis man " far away in Montana, or " a Condit 
man " in southern California, will secure for one of 



180 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

our countrymen a cordial welcome from these Chinese 
heathens, where, otherwise, he would be kept at a 
distance through distrust and suspicion. 

3. Our missionaries should be enabled to visit 
Chinese settlements, and to assist the native brethren 
employed as Bible-readers or colporteurs. It is not 
so much a large number of American missionaries 
that we need, as it is that they should be able to en- 
gage in this practical work. 

4. As to schools — these are important, but confin- 
ing ; the ordained missionaries should not be tied 
down to them. To employ teachers on salaries in- 
volves considerable expense. It is but a small part 
of our Chinese visitors who will ever be found in 
these schools — only those who wish to learn English 
— perhaps not one in a hundred ; but then all who do 
enter as scholars are brought more or less under 
Christian influence and sympathy, and form a con- 
necting link between our churches and the Chinese 
around them. We venture to offer the suggestion 
that these schools should be conducted somewhat on 
the Sabbath-school system. They are held, we under- 
stand, only in the evening, five evenings in the week. 
By a little organization, the churches of several de- 
nominations taking a part in it, a suitable room might 
be provided ; a lecture or Sabbath-school room would 
answer. Teachers — men and women, young men and 
maidens — might be enlisted, a certain number to 
spend an evening in their turn, under such general 
superintendence as the pastors or leading church-mem- 
bers could readily secure. This would bring the 



SABBATH-SCHOOL WORK FOR THE CHINESE. 181 

Chinese desirous of instruction into close relations 
and sympathy with the church or churches of the 
place, and it would involve but little, if any, expense. 



SABBATH-SCHOOL WORK FOR THE CHINESE. 

We are glad to see that two of our churches in 
Western cities, have made arrangements for teach- 
ing Chinese scholars in their Sabbath-schools. There 
are other places where this might well be done. The 
laundries and factories where Chinese are at work 
will furnish the scholars ; the congregations can fur- 
nish the teachers ; one scholar to each teacher for 
a lesson longer or shorter, the first scholar then to 
give place to a second, until the number having 
some knowledge of our language can make a class. 
Such instruction ought to be given in a chapel or 
Sabbath-school room, not in private dwellings rented 
for the purpose. The religious services of the place, 
the sight of Christians at worship, the singing of 
psalms and hymns, all tend to give them correct 
ideas of the Christian religion, such as they do not 
equally receive in an ordinary room. The Chinese 
who will come want to learn English. But they will 
learn a great deal more. They will learn that they 
have friends in this country ; and they can be moved 
by grateful and affectionate feelings, more than any 



1 82 MISSION A R Y PAPERS. 

heathen people with whom we are acquainted. They 
will find themselves under the influence of the Church 
of Christ. They will learn the way of salvation. They 
will become followers of our Lord and Saviour. They 
will become prepared to speak of the Gospel to their 
countrymen, here or in China. 

The object of this paragraph is to commend the 
example of the churches above mentioned to min- 
isters, elders, Sabbath-school superintendents, and 
others, wherever there are Chinese. They are now 
found in some places in little companies, isolated, 
strangers, and too often treated with un-Christian and 
un-American harshness. By the blessing of God all 
that is objectionable amongst them may be corrected, 
and especially may they become " fellow-citizens with 
the saints and of the household of God." 



LI. 

OUR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 

.... The main object of this paper is to consider 
how the country can best order its relations to the In- 
dians, and then to ask what more the Church should 
do for them. This object will not require the discus- 
sion of the policies and measures of former years, 
though the humane intention of our General Govern- 
ment in its treatment of the Indians from the begin- 
ning should be fully recognized. We need not dwell 



OUR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 183 

on the evils they have suffered from our countrymen, 
but it is well for us to remember that these have com- 
monly sprung from narrow and oppressive State legis- 
lation, from unprincipled officials, and still more from 
the contact of the worst class of white people with the 
Indians on the frontiers. The general aim of the Gov- 
ernment at Washington, representing well in this re- 
spect the country as a whole, has been marked by the 

spirit of conciliation and kindness Indeed, it 

may be questioned whether some of our earlier Presi- 
dents did not express stronger pacific purposes than 
the public sentiment of our day would sustain ; see the 
policy of Washington in Sparks' Life, page 432 : " He 
aimed to conciliate them by good usage, to obtain 
their lands by fair purchase, to make treaties with 
them on terms of equity and reciprocal advantage, 

and strictly to redeem every pledge But their 

faithlessness, ravages, and murders were not to be 
tolerated, from whatever cause they arose. After fail- 
ing at every attempt at pacification, he was convinced 
that war was the only alternative." This was the true 
policy of peace. Still stronger is the language of Jef- 
ferson — see his works, passim. We cite a few words 
from his speech to the Ottawa, Chippewa, Pottawata- 
mie, Wyandot, and Seneca chiefs, April 22, 1808: 
"Your lands are your own ; your right to them shall 
never be violated by us ; they are yours to keep or 

sell as you please You are always free to say 

* No/ [to the requests to buy their land], and it will 
never disturb our friendship for you." Jefferson advo- 
cated the principle involved in our modern phrase, 



184 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

that it is better to feed the Indians than to fight 
them, when he said, in a letter to Charles Carroll, April 
15, 1791, " The most economical as well as the most 
humane conduct towards them is to bribe them into 
peace, and to retain them in peace by eternal bribes," 
and then he goes on to deprecate a recent military 
expedition against them, as costing enough " for pres- 
ents on the most liberal scale for one hundred years." 
It is, however, the living questions of the hour that 
should now [1 873] engage attention. Among these, in- 
credible as it may seem, we meet the idea of extermina- 
tion ; flippant speakers and writers rejoice over " the 
dead Indian " as their type of perfection ; more earn- 
est men wish they were " out of the way " ; others still 
would fold their hands and "let them pass away"; 
covetous men want their land, and do not care by 
what means its possession can be secured ; many who 
would do them no harm yet regard them only as ob- 
jects of fear and aversion. All these shades of opinion 
end in a common result — the extinction of the Indian 
race. It must be owned that some things seem to jus- 
tify this direful theory. The wild Indians are mostly 
savages, cruel, treacherous — people whose vicinity 
awakens only feelings of apprehension and even ter- 
ror. They, and far too many of the half-settled tribes, 
are most undesirable neighbors, idle, lazy, thievish, 
dirty, every way disagreeable — the furthest removed 
from "the noble red men" of our writers of romance. 
Nevertheless, they are men of like passions with us, 
capable of improvement, and of living a Christian life. 
As to " killing them off," or " shooting them down 



O UR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 1 8 5 

like wolves," we have not so learnt the lesson of hu- 
manity, to say nothing of religion. We are a civilized 
people. We do not sanction murder, violence, nor 
inhumanity. We can not adopt even the policy of do- 
ing nothing, letting them pass away, only punishing 
them for acts of violence against white people — a part 
of the theory of extermination, a policy worthy of 
him who asked, "Am I my brother's keeper?" This 
method does not meet the exigencies of the case. It 
does not save the lives of our own people, nor protect 
our advancing railroads, nor make the wilderness to 
become a fruitful field ; it does not make friends and 
fellow-citizens of those who are capable of becoming 
intelligent, industrious, well-ordered Christian people. 
As a means to this end, we can no longer adopt 
the theory of regarding the Indian tribes as foreign 
or independent powers, with whom our Government 
should form treaties. Whatever may have been ex- 
pedient at the beginning of this century, it is not now 
best, either for the Indians or for ourselves, to conduct 
our intercourse with them upon this idea ; though we 
should certainly fulfil all the engagements we have 

made with them by treaty On the other hand, 

we can not yet deal with the Indians as in many re- 
spects good American citizens. Those amongst them 
who have become intelligent and industrious, in a 
word, civilized, should be admitted to the rights of 
citizenship. We need be embarrassed by no doubts on 
this subject. Whatever reasons may have led to the 
clause in the Constitution, excluding " Indians not 
taxed " from the count of our people in the apportion- 



1 86 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

ment of members of Congress, these reasons should 
equally weigh against the enumeration of any other 
non-taxed class ; but the clause itself clearly implies 
that Indians who are taxed are to be counted, and so 
recognized as citizens. The theory that the Indians 
are foreigners has no place in the Constitution, and 
our action on this theory has been merely a usage 
which was apparently proper at the time. Our States 
will readily accord to them the rights of citizenship as 
soon as they are prepared for it ; some of the States, 
we believe, have already admitted them to these rights, 
But in regard to Indians not yet civilized — especially 
to those who are still in a savage or wild state, the 
idea of citizenship is inadmissible. They ought, how- 
ever, to be placed under the protection of law, and 
certainly their testimony should not be excluded in 
judicial cases. That they could be held and treated 
as responsible to our courts of justice for their con- 
duct does not seem practicable, considering their 
ignorance of our language, their own dialects unknown 
to most of our magistrates, their habits of life, 
their want of acquaintance with the elementary princi- 
ples of our legal system. Still, they should not be 
left in a lawless state, and they need not be so left, 
as will appear further on. 

The true idea of the relation between the country 
and the Indians is that of Guardian and Ward. Not 
in every strict legal particular, but in the general sense 
expressed by Blackstone, who describes a guardian 
as having " charge of the maintenance and education 
of the minor," or as defined in one of our dictionaries, 



OUR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 187 

" who has the custody or property of .... a person 
who is incapable of managing his own affairs " ; so, a 
ward is " one who is guarded." This relation in the 
case before us has grown up as naturally almost and 
as inevitably as that between the State and its orphan ; 
lunatic, and pauper classes of people. It is Christian 
guardianship that is needed now, to be exercised on 
broad views of statesmanship, looking to the welfare 
of the people of all classes, white or red, but ever aim- 
ing to do what is wise, humane, and just towards its 
Indian wards. On this basis, we believe, all Indian 
questions can be solved ; on any other, we do not see 
how they can be well settled. 

This theory, and any theory, must stand the test 
of practical difficulties. First among these is the ques- 
tion of land. The possession of the land now occu- 
pied in some measure as " reservations " and in larger 
measure not occupied in any definite sense by roving 
Indians, lies at the foundation of many of our Indian 
troubles, and tests severely our own character as a 
Christian nation. Jefferson truly said in 1786, "The 
want [of attention to the rights of Indians, chiefly in 
respect to their land] is a principal source of dishonor 
to the American character," and so it has been too 
often since his day. The Indians themselves, the rail- 
road companies, the speculators in lands, the hardy 
laboring men ever pressing to the front, are all in- 
volved in the settlement of this subject. Let us ask, 
how would. a guardian, at once wise, benevolent, and 
sufficiently powerful, act in this matter? He would, 
to begin, certainly fulfil to the letter all his own en- 



1 88 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

gagements, and take not an acre from any ward to 
whom he had assigned it, without his own full and free 
consent. But, to go to the basis of title or ownership 
of the land, in all regions not closed against inquiry 
by his own acts, we can hardly believe that such a 
guardian would recognize his Indian wards as having 
anything more than a possessory right to the land. 
Such right was important to them, when they de- 
pended on the chase for subsistence, but it is of little 
value when the buffalo or the deer no longer rewards 
their skill. On the method of supporting themselves 
by industry, which they must henceforth adopt, a few 
hundred good acres are worth more to their owner 
than hundreds of square miles held as a hunting 
ground. 

The setting apart of land in reserve for the Indians 
will of necessity have to be continued for the present. 
The Government, having the right of eminent do- 
main, and acting as public guardian in this case, 
should order the selection of these reserves so as to 
secure homes for. the Indians on land capable of 
yielding them a support, and so placed as to make the 
intervention of military force if need be readily prac- 
ticable. No more mistakes should be made as in 
placing the Winnebagoes at Crow Creek and the 
Navajoes at the Bosque Redondo — costing the coun- 
try millions of dollars and the Indians great suffering 
and discouragement, and ending in their removal at 
great expense to new reserves — all attributable to the 
want of intelligent consideration by the Government 
officials, if not to less creditable reasons. Almost 



O UR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 1 89 

equally to be shunned is the mistake of making the 
reservation too large, giving to a few thousand Indians 
a district as large as the State of New Jersey. These 
reserves should be chosen not only for the benefit of 
the Indians, but with reference also to military oper 
ations, which will be indispensable for a time in the 
government of wild tribes, and the protection of the 
peaceful Indians. A carefully considered line of 
policy should be adopted in this matter, at the earliest 
day ; the hasty though well-meant action of " Com- 
missioners," Agents, or military officers, does not 
meet the exigencies of the case. Their action should 
be conformed to the requirements of a wise and 
comprehensive policy, and not sporadic, partial, em- 
barrassing in the future, often doing great harm, as 
in the Bosque Redondo case already mentioned. 
The reserved land should be allotted to Indian fam- 
ilies in severalty, a suitable tract to each, with title 
inalienable unless by the consent of the Government. 
Then should follow the encouragement of farming, 
stock raising, etc., the fostering of schools, and es- 
pecially the encouragement of the religious and benev- 
olent agencies of our Missionary Boards. All directly 
religious efforts for the conversion of the Indians 
should of course be made at the expense of the 
churches; but the Government may well charge itself 
with the cost of education, providing suitable build- 
ings, paying the salaries of the teachers, etc. ; in a 
word, sustaining to the Indians in education the rela- 
tion which most of our State Governments sustain to 
their citizens in our common school system. It may 



1 90 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

well admit the co-operation of our Missionary Boards, 
calling on them to nominate persons for appointment 
as teachers, providing them with houses free of rent, 
but in no case giving them land in fee. Other mat- 
ters of detail would of course receive due considera- 
tion. 

On the reservations, the United States Indian 
Agent represents the Government, but his functions 
need to be denned, his authority limited, his official 
course regulated by statute, as far as possible. Per- 
haps too much is now left to the mere discretion of 
these important officers. We would give them the 
functions of our magistrates, empowering them to 
hold courts of limited jurisdiction, itinerant in some 
cases, their proceedings being of record, and to be 
reviewed by superior officers appointed for the pur- 
pose. All this requires what has been too long 
delayed, the enactment of laws, — the fewer, the 
simpler, the more easily understood and enforced, the 
better for all parties. We can not expect good results 
from the absence of law among the Indians, as is at 
present the case in too many tribes ; their usages 
make a poor substitute for a few simple, good laws. 
In this matter, we should think, the best legal minds 
of the country, under the direction of the best com- 
mon-sense, might find an interesting sphere of study, 
and render invaluable service to our poor wards. 

The intervention of the military power would no 
doubt have to be invoked, even under the most 
humane guardianship, — indeed, as a resource of hu- 
manity itself. The reserves being properly grouped, 



O UR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 1 9 1 

and military posts chosen with reference to probable 
duty, no large part of our army need be held in readi- 
ness for Indian service. Indians in some tribes are 
now employed as policemen, to good purpose. We 
would employ them as soldiers also in the regular 
army, in rank and file, with promotion for good con- 
duct to the grade of sergeant or even higher ; enlist- 
ing those who can understand the few English words 
needed, and taking them from the settled and civil- 
ized or semi-civilized tribes ; continuing, however, in 
central positions detachments of the troops as now 
organized. These native soldiers would make splen- 
did troops, as was abundantly shown during the late 
Rebellion ; even in the recent Modoc conflicts our 
Indian allies seem to have rendered the best service 
on the side of the authorities. Such soldiers would 
seldom desert the service, and so an immense expense 
to the Government would be avoided : they would 
rarely invade the purity of Indian homes or so mal- 
treat their own people as to bring on the outbreaks 
which now frequently occur from this cause ; they 
would be themselves in a good school, learning habits 
of obedience to authority, respect for each other's 
rights, punctuality, neatness in dress. We would not 
have them arrayed in full regimentals, but merely in 
the simplest military costume ; perhaps the old Indian 
hunting shirt, not dissimiliar to the French blouse, 
with slight trimming or ornament, would make the 
best uniform. The example of the British governing 
India largely by its own natives as soldiers, will not 
apply in some material respects to the case before us ; 



1 92 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

but in other respects, especially referring to the Hill 
troops, or Irregular Battalions, with but few European 
officers to each, we think this example instructive and 
worthy of imitation. We would of course wish our 
Indian military force to be organized, equipped, and 
trained by our accomplished military officers on an 
American basis, not on that of British India, with all 
the adaptations which our special circumstances re- 
quire. All this we suppose to be included in the idea 
of a wise and humane guardianship. Without pro- 
tection and peace, the Indians can no more reach 
settled prosperity than a community of prisoners or 
lunatics unguarded. 

All these things should be so ordered as to lead to 
the result of the Indians becoming disbanded, losing 
their tribal relations, as soon as they are civilized. 
I. It is not advisable in this country to foster class 
distinctions among our people ; we want here no 
Irish, no German, no Indian party. 2. Our political 
system is comprehensive and flexible enough to em- 
brace people of all nationalities and fuse them in a 
common brotherhood. 3. Indians, once intelligent, 
moral, and industrious, will make as good citizens as 
any other people. 4. Our States will readily, grant 
them, when so qualified, the rights of citizenship ; or 
else incur the risk of having a useless, improvident, 
burdensome class of persons to be governed by force 
and supported by charity. 5. We can see no reason 
for not leaving this matter of citizenship to be settled 
by the common principles which control political 
rights in this country. 



O UR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 1 93 

If, however, the Indians do not .become civilized, 
and fitted to be citizens, abandoning tribal relations, 
and seeking their support like other people in what- 
ever pursuits they may choose, then we have a more 
difficult problem to consider — What shall be done 
with them as uncivilized ? Those of them who are 
savage and wild, we apprehend must be dealt with 
under the general idea of prisoners, somewhat at 
large. They must be restrained by sufficient power, 
and not allowed to prey on other Indians nor on 
white people. There is little use in trying to reason 
with savages ; it is no part of any true " peace policy ' 
from the time of Washington downward, to withdraw 
the military arm from the settlement of Indian ques- 
tions ; but we now see clearly that this policy of 
armed peace involves feeding the wild Indians. They 
can not be expected to remain quiet in restricted 
territorial limits if they are starving. And it is far 
less expensive to the country to send them needed 
supplies of only necessary things, such as beef, pork, 
flour, salt, soap, and coarse but serviceable clothing, 
with a few agricultural tools, than to keep up costly 
military and still more costly commissariat estab- 
lishments for incessant Indian wars. On the plan 
of supplying their wants, small detachments of 
troops will suffice to keep the peace. We agree 
with a late Commissioner of Indian Affairs, that 
this is a low view of a grave state of public in- 
terests, but as a provisional arrangement it is certainly 
wise for us and humane for the savages. It is deal- 
ing with them as we deal with prisoners in our peni- 
9 



1 94 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

tentiaries, restraining them, and supplying their wants. 
And then our good Government acting towards them 
uprightly and in good faith, on a liberal policy, and 
our benevolent people going amongst them as traders 
and friends, giving particular kindness to their chil- 
dren, we may confidently hope for a great change in 
their character. Before long they will pass from the 
condition of wild Indians to that of somewhat settled 
if not yet civilized communities — such, for example? 
as most of the tribes now living in Nebraska. These 
tribes are living on reservations, certainly to their 
great advantage in many respects. Yet they can not 
and do not feel settled. Their reserves are but islands 
in the midst of the white population. Too many of 
their neighbors covet their land. The Omahas, for 
example, men, women, and children, about 1,000 
souls, the remnant of the tribe, have reserved land 
of a quality equal to any in the State, and capable of 
supporting a population of 50,000 engaged in farm- 
ing. They owe their large advance over other tribes 
to missionary labor amongst them. But still too 
many of them live in a poor way. They would prob- 
ably be in better circumstances if they removed to 
the Indian Territory. Their land, 345,600 acres, 
would sell for a good price ; every dollar of the pro- 
ceeds of sale should be held by the Government in 
trust for them, after deducting the expense of removal, 
which need not require a large sum. In their new 
home they would be in better circumstances than they 
can expect to be in Nebraska. And the same is true of 
other tribes, now somewhat settled, but not civilized. 



O UR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 195 

The Indian Territory, we have thought for years, 
might become the home of all the Indians in our 
States and Territories, excepting those prepared to 
give up their tribal condition and to become citizens, 
and also excepting those living in the north, who 
might not get on well in a warm climate. This Terri- 
tory is so large, and it has a soil and climate so excel- 
lent, that it could easily support three times as nu- 
merous a population as all the Indians, and still have 
fewer inhabitants than are found in the State of Mis- 
souri, which lies partly on its northern boundary. 
There are many and difficult questions in connection 
with this Territory, which can not here be considered. 
Its relations to the General Government, its geographi- 
cal position as to our railroad system, its inter-tribal 
interests, its questions of land in common or in 
severalty, and as to the districts to be assigned to 
tribes that may wish to live within its boundaries — 
these we must leave in abeyance. But we must not 
forget that a large part of this territory is held by 
certain tribes on the faith of the Government ex- 
pressed in repeated treaties ; it has been conveyed to 
the Indians in the most unqualified terms for perpet- 
ual possession. Every condition entered into by our 
Government must be fulfilled. No change is to be 
thought of, excepting such as may be made with the 
consent of the Indians, freely given. No grants of 
land to railroads should be made by Congress in its 
bounds any more than in the State of Pennsylvania. 
No white person should be allowed the right of resi- 
dence, except in special cases with the consent of the 



196 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Indians. It has long been supposed by many, especially 
before the late Rebellion when slavery existed in this 
Territory, that eventually an Indian State could be 
created, and the districts occupied by different tribes 
would then become counties. Though some" of the 
Indians would prefer a Confederation, each tribe re- 
maining independent, yet, for reasons already sug- 
gested, this project should not be adopted. But this 
fine Territory must be kept for the red men now 
there, and we hope it can become the abode of other 
tribal Indians, until a state of things better for them 
as well as for us brings to pass a change from special 
Territorial to our common State condition. As the 
case now stands, we see no alternative but that of 
testing the experiment of protecting this Indian com- 
munity, unless we would break the sacred faith of the 
country as pledged to this people. We regard it as an 
experiment. In the end one of two things will come 
to pass — the experiment will be so manifestly a failure 
that all parties, the best of the Indians included, will 
be prepared for some great change as a matter of in- 
evitable public necessity ; or else, the experiment will 
succeed so well, that the then civilized and Christian 
people of this Territory will take their stand on the 
common broad basis of the other States, and be 
welcomed as equal sharers of our American heri- 
tage 

We may summarize the essential things in the ad- 
ministration of Indian Affairs as follows: I. Give the 
Indians land in fee and in severalty, which should be 
inalienable for a term of years. 2. Give them simple 



O UR INDIAN AFFAIRS. 1 97 

laws and courts of justice. 3. Give them common 
school education, as in our States, in English, but 
under teachers acquainted with both English and In- 
dian, with the formerly certainly, and at least to some 
good extent with the latter. 4. Shape all measures so 
as to favor their disbanding the tribal relation as soon 
as practicable, and then abandon the plan of Reserva- 
tions, and let them " behave themselves," and be 
treated as other citizens. 

What more the Church can do for the Indians is 
the main question. True civilization follows practical 
Christianity, and is never the fruit of merely humani- 
tarian -measures. Nearly all that is good among such 
tribes as the Senecas, Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, 
Dakotas, Nez Perces, and others, is the result of Prot- 
estant missionary labor amongst them. First, let our 
churches discard the idea that it is a hopeless work 
to convert this people, and next let them feel assured 
that the fruits of their conversion will abide. The 
Indians possess a wonderful degree of native energy, 
endurance, and capacity of improvement. They are 
not a people destined to "die out," unless through 
the vices and maltreatment of the white people ; on 
the contrary, where they come under Christian influ- 
ences they increase in number, as witness the Chero- 
kees, Choctaws, Seminoles, and others; and where 
they become even partially settled, they do not de- 
crease, as is shown by the Omahas, Winnebagoes, and 
Navajoes. But were we to concede their short ex- 
istence as a race, we should only find a stronger plea 
for giving them the benefits of our holy religion with- 



1 98 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

out delay. Next, the Christian churches of this 
country should recognize the special claims of this 
poor people upon their prompt and vigorous benev- 
olence. By how many bonds are we related to 
them — of neighborhood, of almost exclusive access, 
of indebtedness for land once theirs, of manifold good 
for evils inflicted on them by our countrymen ; of the 
highest obligation of all, that of seeking their eternal 
well-being. The happiest results have already fol- 
lowed the missionary efforts of different churches; 
thousands of converts are enrolled as communicants, 
and beautiful have been many Christian lives, and 
many peaceful deaths, of Indian church members... . . 



LII. 

INDIAN BOARDING-SCHOOLS. 

We have received a letter from a gentleman who is 
influentially connected with the Government Indian 
service, in which he advocates boarding-school educa- 
tion as the only kind that is likely to be useful. His 
observation of day-schools in several tribes leads him 
to regard them with little favor, and he refers particu- 
larly to one tribe. Concerning it we learn from the 
last Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs 
that it is a tribe of 1,100 souls; of school age, 200; 
average attendance in two day-schools, j6 ; amount 
expended for education during the year, $2,253. R- e ~ 



INDIAN BOARDING-SCHOOLS. 199 

suits, so our correspondent says, very unsatisfactory — 
the schools almost useless. This he regrets the more, 
because a mission boarding-school formerly conducted 
for this tribe was of great service. He recommends 
two boarding-schools, to include the children of suita- 
ble age. We value highly the boarding-school plan, 
for its domestic, social, and religious influences, but 
we stand in doubt as to its being the only method of 
educating Indian children. The great expense is one 
thing to be considered ; to educate in this way the 200 
children of school age in the tribe referred to would 
cost at least $30,000 a year, merely for current ex- 
penses, to say nothing of buildings, etc., such as would 
be required. For the 50,000 Indian children of school 
age in all the tribes, the expense would be very great. 
Even if funds were available, it would be difficult, if 
not impracticable, to conduct such schools satisfac- 
torily on so large a scale ; while a large number of the 
children would receive little benefit from them. We 
should be sorry to see the Government adopt this plan 
of education as the only one, or indeed as one for chief 
use, especially if these schools are to be conducted 
hundreds of miles distant from the tribes to which the 
children belong. 

We have faith in good common schools. If Indian 
schools of this class have proved unsuccessful, as is 
certainly true in too many cases, the explanation is 
found largely in the fact that the teachers do not 
know the vernacular. The instruction is in English, 
as it ought to be, seeing they are to become intelli- 
gent citizens, but our language can not be successfully 



200 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

taught, nor can much knowledge be imparted, when the 
scholars do not know English nor the teacher Indian. 
Fancy an attempt to teach our children in common 
schools by teachers knowing only French or German ! 

Let boarding-schools be conducted on the eclectic 
idea, not for all and any kind of children, which is im- 
practicable, but for a small and selected class. Take 
only children or youth of good minds, and let their 
training have special reference to their future occupa- 
tion as teachers. They would, of course, speak their 
own language ; with suitable instruction they would 
learn to speak English ; they would come under the 
influence of good habits, civilized ways, and we trust 
religious life and principle. And so in a few years a 
class of Indian teachers could be employed with the 
best hope of success. 

The principles underlying this suggestion are of uni- 
versal application. All efforts to enlighten an igno- 
rant people must be made chiefly in their own language. 
We fear that too much reliance is placed on English, 
not only in schools supported by the funds of the 
Government, but even in missionary plans. Certainly 
in all the religious instruction of ignorant tribes and 
nations, the masses are to be enlightened by the few, 
speaking in their own tongue the wonderful works of 
God. On missionary ground, at any rate, whatever 
may be expedient in education supported by the Gov- 
ernment, we must regard schools of every kind mainly 
as evangelizing agencies, and grade their usefulness 
by their influence in preparing teachers and preachers 
of the Gospel. 



THE WORK OF AN INDIAN TEACHER. 201 

LIII. 

- THE WORK OF AN INDIAN TEACHER. 

THERE are seven reservations for bands of Chip- 
pewa Indians, situated generally within access of the 
western part of Lake Superior, and including about 
4,600 Chippewas. One of these reservations contains 
our missionary station and its good work at Odanah, 
Wisconsin. Another is the Lac Courte d'Oreille re- 
serve, perhaps sixty miles west of south from Odanah, 
in a region hardly yet visited by civilization. Here 
among 1,700 Indians an Indian teacher and his wife 
are stationed, whose education and Christian experi- 
ence were gained at Odanah. Good results have fol- 
lowed the work at this out-station, as shown by the 
following letter of the missionary, dated Odanah, Oc- 
tober 4, 1879: 

" I have just returned from a ten days' trip to the 
out-station. Found the teacher and his wife and babe 
well, and the school prospering. The mission work is 
also gaining ground, I think. We held three meetings 
there which were well attended ; married one couple, 
and baptized the babe of the teacher and his wife. 

" The people are very well pleased with the school, 
and the children have made wonderful progress in- 
deed. If I should state what I actually saw and 
heard, my veracity would be almost questioned in 
some quarters. Children who never saw a school be- 
fore the 3d of December, 1878, are now reading intel- 
ligently in the Second Reader, though few of them 

9* 



202 I MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

have been to school a hundred days. We visited con- 
siderably, and made arrangements for more of the 
direct missionary work, the teacher to have school 
four days per week, and to visit a day and a half a 
week among the people, reading, singing, and praying 
in their wigwams. I was accompanied by Moses, one 
of my students at present. The tramp on foot was 
over ioo miles through the solid woods. We felt the 
presence of the Master with us, and trust good fruit 
will follow." 

This interesting letter gives at least one example of 
day-school success. We shall hope to see many more 
such examples. 

Boarding-schools, each with industrial departments, 
are of perhaps indispensable use. In them skilled 
workers and teachers, of both sexes, and also Bible- 
readers and preachers, may be trained for their own 
people. But as to day-schools, if we admit that they 
have often been unsuccessful, it was, in too many cases, 
because the teachers were incompetent. Dull, igno- 
rant, non-magnetic teachers will not succeed anywhere, 
among any people. But given a teacher who knows 
both languages, English and Indian, and who is other- 
wise well qualified, and there will be success. It may 
be qualified by various causes, such as the favor, the 
indifference, or the opposition of parents, but if sup- 
ported by the influence of the Government, or by a 
Missionary Board, such a teacher ought to succeed, in 
a good and increasing degree. 

This subject is one of practical moment, especially 
in view of the true theory that the General Govern- 



BOARDING SCHOOLS AND ORPHANAGES. 203 

ment ought to give good common school education 
to all Indian children on reservations within the Ter- 
ritories, just as our States support common schools 
for the children of their citizens. For such Indian 
schools many teachers are needed. 



LIV. 

BOARDING SCHOOLS AND ORPHANAGES. 

The Christian education of children among the 
heathen is a recognized method of missionary action. 
It is not always practicable at first, but sometimes 
it precedes labors for adults. Schools of various 
kinds are supported, and boarding and orphan schools 
are regarded by many with special favor. As a means 
of personal benefit to the scholars, they possess the 
obvious advantages of careful instruction, systematic 
training, good home influences and examples. They 
seem to be chiefly useful among people little civil- 
ized, like our Indian tribes, especially when out-door 
or in-door work forms a part of the daily require- 
ments. These Indian boarding-schools, properly con- 
ducted, do not seem to hinder their scholars, when 
they leave school, from readily living with their own 
people again. 
- In countries where society is well established, where 
conventional usages are in full force and binding to a 
degree almost unknown to us, where also it is very 



204 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

difficult to find occupation outside of the usual circum- 
stances, the case of boarding and orphan schools is 
different in some respects. The pupils are in danger 
of becoming hot-house plants, ill adapted to out-door 
life, trained away from their own people, in a degree 
that unfits them to make a living for themselves. 
This result it is endeavored to counteract by their 
retaining their native dress and the native way of 
living ; but constant effort is needed to prevent their 
becoming virtually foreigners in their habits and 
tastes, and to keep them from being regarded with 
distrust by their own people. These difficulties are 
usually less in the case of boarding-scholars than of 
orphans. The connection of the former with their 
own families is not cut off, sympathetic intercourse 
with them is maintained, the instruction of the school- 
room becomes Gospel leaven in many a household, 
business occupations and marriage relations outside 
of the school do not become impracticable ; as to 
the latter, however, some of the missionaries in China 
wisely secure the control of the betrothment of both 
boys and girls, so as to keep the Christian nurture of 
their scholars from injury in their after-domestic life. 
In this densely-inhabited country boarding-schools, 
such as have long been conducted at Ningpo, have 
yielded gratifying results ; many of the native minis- 
ters and their wives were trained in these schools, 
without being much separated from native society. 

Orphanages have their own features of interest 
and their peculiar drawbacks. Their advantages 
are obvious, the disadvantages may not first be 



BOARDING SCHOOLS AND ORPHANAGES. 205 

apparent. Their inmates are in danger of being 
completely separated from their own people. When 
they reach the age of self-support and of settle- 
ment in life, their situation is likely to be one of 
great difficulty, especially in the case of girls. All 
orphan children are too likely to become permanently 
dependent on their missionary friends for a home 
and for support. Some of them, it is always hoped, 
will become qualified by grace and gifts for useful- 
ness in missionary service ; others may not be fitted 
for this spiritual work, and what is to become of 
them? 

There is, moreover, to the missionaries in charge 
of orphanages a burden of incessant, unrelieved, 
almost unrelievable care, whfch is very wearing ; in- 
deed, few persons can long endure it, while yet its 
strain must be kept up for an indefinite period. It 
is not commonly the older missionaries in India or 
China, as we apprehend, who most favor orphan 
schools ; but to the less experienced, we do not won- 
der that they seem to be quite attractive. Of course, 
we all can understand the humanitarian aspect of these 
schools, and it is easy to see why Romanist mission- 
aries and nuns are eager to take the charge of orphan 
children ; but in our plans, we must keep in mind 
chiefly spiritual results, and these as adapted to the 
self-perpetuation of religion in different countries by 
their own people. Whatever tends to the purpose 
of evangelization is to be welcomed ; whatever de- 
lays or hinders this purpose is to be used sparingly if 
at all. Often much light is thrown upon these ques- 



206 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

tions by the orderings of Providence, which widely 
differ in different missions ; but in all cases, boarding 
and orphan schools need careful and patient study 
before they are undertaken. 



LV. 
NATIVE MINISTERS. 

The importance of a native ministry has long been 
recognized by the friends of missions ; it is no recent 
idea, as some think. In the Annual Reports of the 
Board it has been frequently brought forward. One 
of the first missionaries sent out, referring to " train- 
ing up " . . . . " a race of native preachers," wrote 
from Calcutta, April 21, 1834: "It must indeed be 
manifest that the Church can not send forth a suffi- 
cient number of missionaries to educate the native 
population The best plan is to train up na- 
tive preachers, by sending forth a sufficient number 
of missionaries to conduct the system by which they 
are to be prepared." This opinion has gained 
strength from a careful watching of the missionary 
world and work since this was written. 

Under this general view, particular questions arise, 
which often require careful judgment and a wise 
adaptation to the varying circumstances of different 
tribes and nations. Should this " training up " be 
in the mission -field, or should native candidates 



NA TI VE MINIS TERS. 207 

for the ministry be sent to Christian countries for 
their higher education ? Should it be in the ver- 
nacular language, or in English, or in both ? To 
what extent should their education be carried, pre- 
vious, to their being ordained? Should it be in 
classes or schools under missionary teachers, or by 
separate instruction of the missionary at the station 
where the candidate lives ? Should it be under " mis- 
sion " direction, or that of the Presbytery ? Should 
such native ministers be left in Presbyteries of their 
own, or associated with the missionaries in the same 
Presbyteries ? These and other questions are evi- 
dently of practical importance, and they require 
ability, education, careful study, and especially wis- 
dom from on high, for their satisfactory solution. It 
is but too easy to make mistakes in regard to some 
of these questions. The missionaries themselves feel 
their need of divine guidance in these matters, and 
they should be aided by the prayers of the churches. 
No part of the missionary work stands more in need 
of prayer. 

No discussion of these questions is at all intended 
in this brief article, yet two or three hints may be 
offered on certain points. 1. The plan which our 
blessed Lord pursued in training the Apostles for 
their work seems well to suit missions to small tribes, 
and the earlier if not also the later stages of mission- 
ary work in most countries. Select a convert of 
good piety and capacity ; bring him into close 
personal relations with the missionary — the more 
intimate and personal the better, if the mission- 



2o'8 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

ary is himself a man of deep piety, — and let this 
intimacy be so ordered as not to render him dis- 
contented with his native manner of life, though 
he may and will improve it, and also let it be 
so ordered as not to lead him to form expensive 
habits, making it difficult for the native church to 
support him as a pastor ; place him under Presbyterial 
supervision when practicable ; go on with his training 
day by day, with a steady purpose, a carefully-con- 
sidered plan, using the circumstances of every-day 
life among heathen people as offering lessons, but 
relying chiefly on the inspired Word carefully and 
prayerfully studied by both pupil and teacher, and 
exemplified by the teacher in tender sympathy with 
his scholar ; keep him employed more or less in mis- 
sionary work during all his course of preparation ; 
and so by God's blessing train him up for usefulness. 
In the meantime, and all the time, keep him in sym- 
pathy and full acquaintance with his native Christian 
brethren, and upon their call and offer of support, 
according to their ability, let him be ordained as 
their pastor. 

2. The foreign missionaries begin the work in any 
given field, but let their aim be from the beginning 
to secure its expansion by native laborers, — for many 
reasons. 

3. Let both foreign and native ministers meet to- 
gether in the same Presbytery — as not only in ac- 
cordance with our church views, but as supplement- 
ing each other's deficiencies, fostering mutual sym- 
pathy, guarding well if not best against alienation or 



CANDIDA TES FOR THE MINISTR Y. 209 

diversity of views, etc. ; and let this plan be pursued 
provisionally. When the native church of any coun- 
try can stand alone, not needing foreign help, then of 
course it will set up for itself ; and may this day soon 
come ! 

It may be added, by way of encouragement, that 
whereas in 1834 there were but very few native min- 
isters, — in some countries none, in others here and 
there one, — in 1874 there are hundreds, besides hun- 
dreds more of candidates under training. 



LVI. 

SHOULD CANDIDATES FOR THE MINISTRY BE 
BROUGHT FROM OUR FOREIGN MISSIONS TO 
THIS COUNTRY FOR THEIR EDUCATION ? 

The case of foreign young men — from Africa, 
India, China, etc., who are sent to this country for 
education, with a view to their returning as mission- 
aries to their own people, differs in some respects 
from that of the young men usually aided by the 
funds of the Board of Education in this country. 
They have seldom enjoyed the training of intelligent 
Christian families, nor have they had in all early years 
the advantages of good schools ; and usually they 
possess little general knowledge, except what is im- 
plied in their acquaintance with English, which is 
often imperfect. They are not expecting, commonly, 



2io MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

to pursue an eight years' course of college and semi- 
nary study. The practical issue, therefore, of taking 
such young men on the Home funds of the Church, 
apart from the needless complication of its agencies, 
would seem to be their education on a lower standard 
than the Board or the Church maintains for its min- 
istry in our country. 

But they expect in most cases to return to their 
own land ; is it then expedient to encourage them to 
seek such preparation for the ministry here rather 
than in their own country ? As a general rule the 
home education of our ministers, as indeed of all 
professional men, is greatly superior to what they 
could acquire abroad, for all the practical purposes of 
life. The case of these foreign young men forms no 
exception to this rule. While they may here enjoy 
educational advantages superior to what are within 
their reach in their native land, yet we must keep it 
in mind that the advantages of our schools can be en- 
joyed by them only under circumstances of serious 
difficulty, both in this country and in their own. 
Their previous training does not enable them to make 
the best use of these advantages. The temptations 
of life here are great, in their inexperience. They are. 
likely to form erroneous views of social life, to ac- 
quire habits of expense much beyond what they have 
been accustomed to, and to become neither Ameri- 
cans nor natives ; in a word, to be denationalized. 
They will almost certainly become disqualified for 
contented, humble work in their native land ; and, 
'what is even more serious, they will not be likely 



CANDIDATES FOR THE MINISTRY. 211 

ever to be supported as pastors of native churches, so 
that their foreign education will be a great hinder- 
ance to the self-support of these churches. This is 
indeed a serious result, and one in most cases inevi- 
table. It is to be feared, moreover, that they will 
return to their own country more than ever in danger 
of turning aside from the ministry and entering into 
secular employment. Or if they should enter the 
ministry, and receive the salaries allowed to foreign 
laborers, or the equivalent, there is the further danger 
of their looking down upon their ministerial brethren 
who are getting less support. Examples, of this, un- 
happily, begin already to appear. 

This is not a pleasant conclusion to reach, but un- 
happily experience has shown that these are not 
imaginary evils. Many cases might be cited adverse 
to the foreign education of these young men ; hardly 
any in favor of it. The views of our foreign mis- 
sionaries, generally, sustain these remarks, at least so 
we understand : and similar views are taken by other 
foreign missionary boards, if we are not misinformed. 

On the other hand, native candidates for the min- 
istry can in most cases, in our day, obtain valuable 
advantages of education in their own country and in 
their native language. This is one of the benefits of 
Christian missions ; indeed the training of a native 
ministry forms a large part of the commissioned work 
of our Foreign Board, so far as providing for its sup- 
port is concerned. The natural gifts of converted 
young men who seem to be called to the ministry, 
abroad as well as here, coupled with good opportuni- 



2 1 2 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

ties of Christian instruction, and especially under the 
teaching of the Holy Spirit, will qualify them for 
eminent usefulness. In proof of this, reference may 
be made to many, if not all, of the 230 native min- 
isters and licentiate preachers connected with the for- 
eign missions of our Church. Whatever education 
they possess was acquired in their own country. 

In the case of foreign young men, chiefly Chinese, 
who have come to this country for worldly gain, and 
have here been found by their Saviour, and led by the 
Holy Spirit to desire to preach the Gospel to their 
own people, the sympathies of our churches are 
specially awakened. Our Chinese mission on the 
Pacific coast has from the beginning cherished the 
hope that many of the Chinese who come to this 
country would return to China as active Christian 
laborers. Whatever educational advantages any of 
them might here acquire, they would still need to 
pursue careful study in China itself before they are 
prepared for the ministry. Some of these Christian 
young Chinamen may find their field of labor among 
their countrymen visiting or residing in our States ; 
even in their case it would be important to them to 
spend several years in China ; a knowledge of Chinese 
classical books, and of the modes of thought of the 
Chinese, would be of indispensable use to them. But 
most of these Chinese converted young men may be 
expected to return to their native country, and if the 
views presented in this paper are correct, it is desir- 
able that they should return at an early stage of their 
Christian course. 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 213 

By denationalizing, referred to above, no strict or 
legal idea is intended, but yet it may apply to many 
things which render nations distinct from each other, 
and in which foreign changes will be injurious rather 
than beneficial, relating to social intercourse, table, 
dress, houses, etc. Christianity and education will 
greatly improve some of these things without essen- 
tially changing their character. It is to be hoped that 
no degree of missionary influence will make Hindus 
Englishmen or Americans, in some of these respects, 
any more than the preaching of the Apostles made 
Greeks and Romans Jews, in similar points. For one 
thing, the expense of a family for living in our coun- 
try, with our ideas and ways, would comfortably sup- 
port several families of the same class in India. This 
has a material bearing on the question as to the train- 
ing of native ministers, and especially as to the sup- 
port of these ministers by the native churches in that 
country. We fear that such support, is seldom given 
there. Is this awing in part to the Anglo-Indian as- 
pects of the case ? 



LVII. 

ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 

The policy of a Missionary Board must have re- 
spect, as its main idea, to the object for which it was 
appointed by the General Assembly. This is to assist 
in giving the Gospel to several hundred millions of 



2 1 4 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

our fellow-men, who are sitting in darkness and the 
shadow of death — these vast multitudes living in dif- 
ferent countries and climates, and speaking different 
languages. The practical plans of the Board, there- 
fore, should have respect on the one hand to the 
greatness of the work to be done ; and on the other, 
to the ability of our churches to engage in that work. 
Both should be wisely considered. The former is 
great beyond finite comprehension ; the latter is yet 
in a great degree an undeveloped power. Some prog- 
ress has been made in calling into action the re- 
sources of the churches ; witness the number of mis- 
sionaries sent forth, and also the advance in the 
pecuniary offerings made to the cause of missions. 
But much remains to be done. It is therefore wise 
that the executive arrangements of the Board should 
be so constructed, as to aid in leading our Christian 
people to abound more in the riches of their liberality 
towards the work of missions. Our main reliance for 
this must, of course, rest upon the ministers, sessions, 
and other church courts ; but much service may be 
rendered by the publications of the press. Hence, 
the importance of Annual Reports carefully prepared, 
of the monthly periodicals — newspapers for children 
especially, occasional circular letters and papers, ar- 
ticles for the weekly newspaper, etc. 

We will suppose that the pecuniary means are now 
furnished ; and the missions are to be established. 
One of the first things to be done is to decide on the 
fields of missionary labor. This may be easily done 
in some cases ; in others, many and varied considera- 



ADMINIS TRA TI VE WORK OF MISSIONS. 2 1 5 

tions must be taken into view ; and in all, definite and 
practical information must be sought concerning nu- 
merous topics. The doors open in different parts of 
the great field, and the reasons for entering one rather 
than another ; the best stations to be occupied, and 
the means of reaching them ; the houses for the fam- 
ilies of missionaries, and also for chapels and schools ; 
the way of remitting funds, and maintaining corre- 
spondence between the laborers abroad and their 
friends and the churches at home — matters like these 
may require more or less attention, but in any case 
they must be well understood. No part of the work 
entrusted to a Missionary Committee is more full of 
responsibility than that of deciding to establish a 
mission among a heathen people, unless it is the pain- 
ful duty of sanctioning the abandonment of such a 
mission. These things demand patient and careful 
consideration by the executive officers of a missionary 
institution. 

Next to this, and hardly less important, is the send- 
ing forth of missionary laborers ; wise judgment is 
needed to send forth those only who are called to the 
missionary work by the Head of the Church. The 
special action of Presbytery is invoked here. With- 
out its recommendation no ordained minister will be 
sent as a missionary. But there are considerations of 
moment, which cannot well be the subject of Presby- 
terial review- ; or if they could, which might better be 
considered in a more informal way. As in judging 
of one's call to the ministry, so here the mind of an 
inquirer as to duty may be aided by information and 



216 MISSION AR Y PAPERS, 

counsel obtained in various ways without the official 
action of Presbytery. He may properly apply to the 
executive officers of the Missionary Board for light 
on various questions ; and its executive arrangements 
should embrace all needful information and experience 
to aid in the decision of these questions. By this 
means the Church may guard against the mistake of 
sending forth those whose want of constitutional 
strength or of sufficient health, or whose mental or 
moral traits would prevent their being useful as mis- 
sionaries ; and also the mistake of sending good men 
to one field of labor for which they are not suited, 
rather than to another where they would be very use- 
ful. It would be easy to expend hundreds and even 
thousands of dollars in vain on a single family, sent 
by mistake to a distant field of labor where health 
would not be enjoyed, or to a service above the men- 
tal strength or furniture of the sincere though misdi- 
rected laborer. Cases not a few have occurred in 
which the information and experience of the execu- 
tive officers have prevented great loss and disappoint- 
ment in this respect. In connection with this, the 
visits of secretaries to our theological seminaries to 
confer with candidates for missionary service may be 
mentioned, and also a considerable correspondence 
with the same class of persons, and with others con- 
cerning them — a correspondence often calling for 
much thought, and sometimes requiring much time 
and labor. 

The missionaries are at length sent forth. We still 
restrict our remarks to the dry but yet important 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 217 

matter of executive or business arrangements ; and we 
now consider, not the collecting, but the expending of 
missionary funds in the prosecution of the work. Under 
the head of current expenses, we refer to expendi- 
tures for outfit, voyage, inland journey, houses, sala- 
ries, the various kinds of labor, — in the pulpit or on 
missionary tours, in the school-room or by the print- 
ing press, the support of native helpers, the oversight 
of plans for the home education of the children of 
missionaries, and other matters. The funds needed 
for these various purposes are the gifts of the churches. 
These are widely dispersed over the country, and 
their gifts are often necessarily small in amount ; but 
in all cases the donors may reasonably require that 
their gifts should be expended with fidelity and to the 
best advantage — having respect to economy of man- 
agement, a wise apportionment among different mis- 
sions, safety of transmission to distant countries, and 
an intelligent, considerate, and kindly watch over the 
manner in which they are expended in each mission 
field. Habits of business, sound judgment, acquaint- 
ance with men, and other traits are indispensable for 
this kind of duty — the same qualifications which se- 
cure large salaries in business relations ; a knowledge 
of foreign exchange, moreover, and of many things 
pertaining to mercantile intercourse with remote parts 
of the world ; and also a particular attention to the 
estimates and expenditures of the missions, as these 
are affected by many causes in different countries. 
These business matters are of no ordinary importance. 
Some of them belong to the treasurer's office, and his 



218 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

post is no sinecure, but is one of the most important 
in the church ; but most of them' are matters to which 
all the executive officers must give more or less at- 
tention. Each dollar of the Board's income should 
be traced from the donor's hand, through all its 
course, till it falls as good seed in the soil of some 
heathen land ; while proper vouchers should be given 
for all its changes, as it is expended on the way. 

The missionaries are in distant countries ; commu- 
nication must be kept up with them. The Mission 
House must have almost a post-office department in 
it. Arrangements must not be neglected, moreover, 
in a number of cases, for the transmission of articles 
of personal convenience and necessity. In some of 
the missions, especially in Africa, a considerable por- 
tion of the " supplies " required in extensive house- 
holds are purchased in this country — to the extent of 
several thousands of dollars yearly, such as clothing, 
certain kinds of provision for the table, etc. In some 
of the Indian boarding-schools, the accounts and 
vouchers for this expenditure are made out, not only 
for the treasury of the Board, but for the U. S. Gov- 
ernment. These things require much attention ; and 
it is only the saving of expense, and the satisfactory 
fulfilment of orders and commissions that are often out 
of the usual line of business, which justify the execu- 
tive officers in taking the supervision of such matters. 

The missionaries are but men — good men, the 
equals of their brethren in the ministry at home, but 
like them liable to commit mistakes, or likely not 
always to agree in their views of questions of duty ; 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 219 

and it becomes expedient to have a directing body to 
whom a certain degree of general supervision of the 
missionary work may be confided. This supervision 
does not extend to ecclesiastical matters as such ; 
these belong to our admirable system of church 
courts. Neither does it take any parts of the mission- 
ary work proper out of the hands of the missionaries, 
it being always wise to leave the work on the ground 
as far as practicable to their judgment and fidelity. 
But it relates to all questions involving the best use 
of the funds devoted by the churches to the mission- 
ary cause ; while to guard against irresponsible power 
or abuse of trust, missionaries, executive officers, 
Board and all, are men under law amenable to the 
Church through its General Assembly. 

We have thus briefly sketched a number of things 
which are included in the administration of our work 
of missions. In carrying forward this work there 
ought to be a due reference to all of these particulars. 
Accordingly, the executive officers employed by the 
Board should be sufficient in number, in character, 
and in qualifications, to do justice in some good de- 
gree to the important interests which are placed in 
their hands. It would be poor economy to restrict 
the number of these officers, if thereby the work 
to be done could not be performed in the best way. 
The case of the Board in this respect is like that of 
any large business concern; a mercantile house or a 
"railway company would not hesitate to employ a suf- 
ficient staff of qualified agents for the thorough exe- 
cution of its business. 



220 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

The due consideration of the several parts of their 
work requires of the secretaries, that each should be 
completely acquainted with all that concerns the mis- 
sionary fields with whose laborers he is in correspond- 
ence. This correspondence, in general, may be de- 
scribed as relating to subjects each having its own 
claims to consideration, and seldom to matters of 
routine. Presenting subjects sometimes new, often 
difficult to be rightly understood, sometimes ex- 
tremely perplexing, and commonly important, this 
correspondence often tasks all the wisdom, knowledge, 
and experience that can be brought to its service ; 
and many times will the inquiry be suggested, who is 
sufficient for these things ? 

An important part of the office work is the prepara- 
tion of the Annual Report and the editing of the 
mission publications — work which from its nature is 
best performed by persons in the correspondence of 
the Board, rather than by outside editors. 

Reverting to the idea for which this account of the 
division of labor in the Mission House was introduced, 
it will be easily perceived that a thorough acquaint- 
ance with each mission field, and with the general 
state of the mission, is indispensable to the proper 
fulfilment of a secretary's duties. He must possess 
very much the same intimate knowledge of the affairs 
of the mission, which he would need were he himself 
one of its members. In this way he can appreciate 
the views of his brethren on subjects brought before 
the Executive Committee ; and in the various ques- 
tions sent home for the action of the Committee, he 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 221 

is prepared to state the case, as it may seem to require 
decision or modification. In this he ought to have 
reference to varied considerations, some of which 
may not be known by the missionaries, while others 
properly belong to the province of the Committee. 
He may err, by excess or by defect, in judgment or 
in other things, and may need the indulgence or the 
forgiveness of his brethren, but he ought not to err 
through ignorance. And yet how great is the num- 
ber and the variety of subjects that concern the wel- 
fare of any Christian mission ! 

The Corisco mission, for example, was in trouble 
some years ago, through the claims of Spanish juris- 
diction and Romanist intolerance. The missionaries 
asked counsel and direction — should they try to 
weather the storm at their posts, or should they seek 
a new field of labor ? What should be done for their 
churches and schools ? What could be done to pro- 
tect the valuable property of the mission, and to de- 
fend the rights of our missionaries as American cit- 
izens ? What ought to be done to arouse public 
attention in the country to the exorbitant pretensions 
that, if unresisted, would fetter rising commerce, and 
foster the revival of the old accursed slave trade ? 
But if the brethren must leave their homes in Corisco, 
where should they go — to Yoruba, or to some place 
on the coast, north or south ? Here was an example 
of questions that were laid before the Committee ; 
and in the answers to be given, who can say how 
much knowledge of African matters generally, of 
American political law, and even of vexed questions in 



222 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Spain itself, should be possessed by a secretary? If 
the Queen were likely to remain long in power, pur- 
chasing the silence of the Romanist clergy for her way 
of life by granting their demands of political power, 
as against the Presbyterian missionaries in Corisco 
for one example, then the measures to be adopted by 
the Committee and the missionaries might take one 
direction ; if her reign were soon to end, then a 
widely different line of policy might be advisable. 
And hardly is there a mission of the Church that has 
not at times sent up its difficult questions for the 
earnest study of the executive officers and the coun- 
sel or decision of the Board". 

Besides a minute and thorough knowledge of the 
missions included in his share of the correspondence, 
each secretary should have at least a good general 
acquaintance with the condition of all the missions. 
Many questions referred to the Board from a particu- 
lar mission have relative bearings in respect to other 
missions." An application for funds to erect a chapel 
at Shanghai, for example, or to employ a teacher of 
high grade at Lodiana, makes it necessary to consider 
the circumstances of other fields of labor ; otherwise, 
while trying to do good in China or India, embar- 
rassment may be created to the missionary work in 
Africa or Siam. A question may be submitted to 
the Committee from some home correspondent ; it 
may be the request of a student in one of our theo- 
logical seminaries to be appointed as a missionary to 
a specified field of labor, or expressing his willingness 
to go to any field ; in either case the secretaries must 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 223 

confer with each other, and give to the Board the 
benefit of their particular acquaintance with the mis- 
sions and with the applicant. It is not to be expected 
that the members should possess the information in 
detail, or in its relation to different missions, which 
yet is needful to the proper consideration of a case 
like this — one of the most common, and one which 
involves the usefulness and happiness of a beloved 
son and daughter of the Church, and the expenditure 
of a considerable amount of the missionary offerings 
of its members. 

This is but an imperfect statement of particulars, 
but it may serve to convey at least a general impres- 
sion of the subject. And after all the care that can 
be taken, it is likely enough that mistakes will some- 
times be made, of one kind or another ; but there 
will remain the satisfaction of being able to believe 
that the best consideration of an able Committee has 
been given to each question of duty, with the aid of 
men whose time and service are specially given to 
the handling of such matters, and who are themselves 
members of the Committee, rightfully sharing in all 
its responsibility. Mistakes may occur, indeed, but 
they will be comparatively few ; and the good will 
greatly outweigh the evil. 

This statement, somewhat in detail, of the general 
method in which our foreign missions are superin- 
tended, will serve as a sufficient answer to any objec- 
tions or doubts concerning the expense of executive 
management, so far at least as the method itself is 
approved. According to this method, the work will 



224 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

be well done, if the officers are competent and faith- 
ful ; and the cost, viewed with reference to the pres- 
ent missionary operations or to the future growth of 
missionary interest among our churches, is certainly 
moderate. It is much less than the cost of con- 
ducting most kinds of mercantile business, involving 
anything like the same amount and variety of par- 
ticulars. 

This line of administration may have some draw- 
backs and some dangers. It may seem to fetter the 
free action of the missionaries ; or to place too much 
power in the hands of a secretary ; or to invest in the 
Board a degree of supervision which the Church 
should reserve for its regular courts. In reply to 
the last it should be observed, that' the Church has 
chosen to act through this Committee, which is but 
its own organ for certain business purposes, and in no 
sense the rival of any of its ecclesiastical tribunals. 
It may be directed, modified, or abolished by the 
Church at any meeting of the General Assembly. 
As to the two former points, we may frankly admit 
the risk of evils. These may occur, indeed, on any 
system that can be devised, in the hands of men sanc- 
tified but in part ; and our best defence against them 
will be found in the guidance and help granted from 
on high, in answer to the prayers of the churches. 
Besides this, there are three things which tend in our 
body to diminish the risk of evils in the working of 
our missionary plans. I. The religious training of 
our ministers and people of every calling, greatly 
tends to a union of views on all the leading subjects 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 225 

involved in the missionary work, and of course dimin- 
ishes the risk of disagreement between the mission- 
aries and the executive officers, and between the 
missionaries themselves, — amongst whom, indeed, 
this risk is greatest. 2. " Public sentiment " is not 
less powerful amongst us than among the supporters 
of missionary institutions, who rely almost solely on 
public opinion for the prevention and redress of evils. 
We are advocates of the proper application of this 
somewhat indefinite power, to promote the successful 
working of all our benevolent schemes. 3. Our 
church courts afford an easy and well-understood 
means of correcting any abuse of power on the part 
of those entrusted with the large discretion which must 
be lodged somewhere, as well as a protection to them 
against unreasonable and fault-finding men. 

The inquiry may here be made, however, whether 
some simpler methpd of conducting the affairs of the 
Missionary Board could not be advantageously 
adopted? It is a presumptive answer in the negative, 
that nearly all the missionary institutions that have 
been formed in the last half century, with a view of 
conducting missions to the heathen on an extended 
scale, have adopted substantially the same method. 
A central or working Committee, secretaries as may 
be needed, and a treasurer, with the extended use of 
the press, are features common to the principal mis- 
sionary societies. The exceptions to this remark can 
l3e accounted for without invalidating its correctness. 
A body of Christian people, living in a small terri- 
tory, marked by homogeneous character, and pos- 



226 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

sessing fixed incomes, may construct missionary 
" schemes " that can be worked well and at small 
expense in one or two fields of labor. Another body 
of Christians accustomed to the government of bishops 
or superintendents, whose general church organization 
is mainly a home missionary one, may readily add to 
this a foreign department, at a small cost for execu- 
tive service. In either case, the less costly adminis- 
tration would be a serious objection, if it prevented 
the adoption of measures commensurate with the 
work to which our Church is called ; and in regard to 
the latter example, our missionary brethren and our 
ministers and people at home would not consent to 
place such unrestricted power in the hands of a few 
men, no matter what might be their excellence. In 
our view, this method of proceeding would restrict 
the healthy development of the missionary work 
abroad, and would impair its true spirit at home ; so 
that even if its cost for executive management were 
low, we should consider it a high-priced economy. 
Different denominations of Christians, indeed, may 
very well adopt different plans of missionary proced- 
ure ; but the general argument from experience, we 
can not but think, remains in full force. 

A proper consideration of the nature and circum- 
stances of the missionary work, we apprehend, will 
also furnish a negative answer to this inquiry, as will 
further appear in the sequel, in some particulars. 
In this place, we merely direct attention to the fact 
that this work includes several departments of labor, 
involving large pecuniary expenditures, in several 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 227 

distant countries. Were the missionary policy of 
our Church so conducted as simply to provide a sup- 
port for the missionaries and nothing less or more, 
no doubt the executive arrangements might be placed 
on a reduced scale. This would prove a narrow if 
not a suicidal method, forbidden both by the experi- 
ence of the Church and by the leadings of Providence 
in our day. 

The plan of conducting missions by Presbyteries 
in this country has been spoken of, and it undoubt- 
edly possesses certain advantages ; but it lacks the 
condition of being equally available by all our Chris- 
tian people. Some Presbyteries could take no part in 
the work. Or, if presbyterial co-operation were so ar- 
ranged as to enlist both the strong and the weak, it 
is difficult to see what would thereby be gained over 
and above the substantial advantages of the plan 
now in use. We have this co-operation already, 
under the direction of the General Assembly. 

There is yet another plan of proceeding, that 
promises simplicity and diminished cost of manage- 
ment, which was for a time adopted by one of our Amer- 
ican missionary institutions. According to this, the 
Committee was instructed to make remittances of 
money to the different missions in gross sums, and not 
in detail or with reference to particular matters in the 
work of the mi'ssions. The practical result of this 
measure was, to entrust the Committee with no re- 
sponsibility for the expenditure of the funds, except 
that of apportioning them among the missions ; in 
other words, a certain sum of money was to be sent 



228 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

to each mission, to be expended at its discretion. On 
its face, this plan looked simple and comprehensive. 
It relieved the Committee from the consideration of 
many details, and diminished the risk of differing 
judgments between the Committee and the mission. 
It proposed greatly to reduce the work to be done in 
the " Mission House," and thereby to lessen the cost 
of executive agency. But the main argument in its 
favor was the assumption, that if men are worthy of 
being sent forth as missionaries, they may well be 
trusted with the unchecked disposal of all needed 
missionary funds. All this looked fair and good. 

The history of this modification of the relations 
between the Committee and the missionaries, in the 
denomination that adopted it, did not, it must be 
acknowledged, speak encouragingly of its success in 
future practice. Difficulties occurred, some years ago, 
between some of the missions and the Committee, as 
a sequel to serious differences of opinion among the 
missionaries themselves. Protracted correspondence 
between the two parties ; a deputation to the distant 
missionary field, consisting of one of the secretaries 
and a prominent pastor; discussions in the annual 
meetings of the society ; letters in the newspapers and 
newspaper editorials ; a convention of leading clergy- 
men and laymen held for several days — all seemed 
unhappily to end in no measures of peace ; and finally 
the short and comprehensive resolution was adopted 
which embodied this new arrangement. It was the 
fruit, therefore, of discord among brethren. It was 
soon complained of by leading men at home and by 



ADMINISTRATIVE WORK OF MISSIONS. 229 

missionaries abroad. Some of the latter felt aggrieved 
under the old policy by what they called the Prelatic 
character of the Committee ; it was a despotism which 
Independent ministers ought not to submit to. Under 
the new rule the same brethren were aggrieved by the 
Presbyterian aspect of the new measure ; Independent 
ministers ought to be independent, and not be required 
to shape their action by the determination of a mis- 
sion, which, they contended, is virtually a Presbytery. 
We suspect the real difficulty lay very much in Inde- 
pendency — both as a form of church government, and 
as a phase of our fallen humanity. But however true or 
erroneous this surmise may be, we have other grounds 
of misgiving concerning this method ; these we may 
briefly suggest. 

1. It transferred the responsibility of the best ex- 
penditure of missionary funds from the Committee 
and the mission to the mission alone, thus removing 
it too far from the hands of the donors, and losing one 
of the securities for its best outlay. The donors are 
entitled to have the best guaranties which the case 
admits of, that their contributions will be expended 
with fidelity and efficiency. On the plans of our Board 
and similar institutions, there is a double security that 
this result will be gained. The missions first prepare 
carefully considered estimates of what they deem 
necessary or useful expenditures in the ensuing year, 
specifying all the usual departments of their work in 
some detail. These estimates are carefully reviewed 
by the Board, whose members are from the nature of 
their trust predisposed to concur with the brethren on 



230 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

the ground, but who act under a more immediate re- 
sponsibility to the churches at home, and with a much 
more complete understanding of the wants of the 
whole missionary field, and also with a better knowl- 
edge of the amount of funds likely to be available for 
the work. The old method embraces, therefore, both 
the particular information of the missionaries and the 
general sanction of the Committee — a two-fold judg- 
ment which may well receive the confidence of the 
churches. 2. The modified policy placed the responsi- 
bility of the best expenditure of missionary funds in 
the hands of men who are not always prepared to 
meet it. A mission sometimes consists of but one or 
two members ; sometimes its members may not pos- 
sess experience, talent, or taste for the charge of 
pecuniary affairs ; sometimes they have been long 
absent from their native country, and can not well 
appreciate the views of the donors or the churches at 
home. In most, if not in all missions, moreover, the 
missionaries will at times differ among themselves as 
to the relative importance of different kinds of work ; 
one regards oral preaching as the only thing ; another 
advocates the instruction of the youth in Christian 
schools ; a third has some other favorite views of his 
work. Who shall decide among these differing breth- 
ren ? 3. This plan would often leave the minority in 
a mission without redress, in the event of their breth- 
ren adopting measures which they do not approve ; 
and thus it would become oppressive. 

This modified plan did not last long. Afterwards 
a method was devised that was adapted to the inde- 



ESTIMATES— LOCAL FUNDS. 231 

pendency of each missionary, but which need not be 
here described. For our Church and its missions we 
may rest contented with plans which on the whole 
have worked well. 



LVIII. 
ESTIMATES— LOCAL FUNDS. 

As to the Board's endorsement of objects, we can 
not but think that its rule is a reasonable one, and 
one which should be welcomed by the supporters of 
our missions. We quote two paragraphs from its 
Manual : 

" 5. The mission should prepare at the end of each 
year a careful estimate of the probable necessary ex- 
penses of its work for the year ensuing, specifying 
the different objects in detail, to be forwarded to the 
Board the first week in January. When there is 
more than one station in a mission, each station should 
prepare its estimates, to be submitted for examination 
and approval by the mission at its annual meeting ; 
and the general estimates of the mission should be 
based on and include these station estimates. It is 
the desire of the Board that the estimates should be 
so complete as to preclude special applications to 
churches, Sabbath-schools, or other associations, for 
objects not specified in them. No missionary should 
apply to the Board for funds for mission work, with- 
out first conferring with the mission. When these 



232 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

mission estimates have been approved by the Board, 
they govern the expenditure of the year, and must 
not be exceeded. If special cases arise, calling for 
new expenditure, they should be made matters of 
correspondence with the Board, excepting when funds 
to meet them are provided from other sources than 
the treasury of the Board, such as donations of Chris- 
tian friends at the station, or from other sources re- 
ferred to in the next paragraph. 

" 6. The object of missionary life must ever be held 
sacred, that of preaching Christ and him crucified, but 
if, without turning aside from this object, missionaries 
should be led by providential circumstances, with the 
consent of their brethren in the mission, and the ap- 
proval of the Board, to engage in work that brings to 
them pecuniary remuneration, the moneys so received 
should be turned over to the treasury of the mission, 
to be used as local funds under its direction, and to 
be reported to the Board ; in such cases the mission- 
aries will continue to- draw their usual salaries from 
the Board." 

Here it may be noted — I. That these estimates 
begin with the brethren in the field. 2. That their 
common or united judgment is sought as to all parts 
of their work. 3. That ample margin is given for 
new objects. 4. That the approval of the Board is 
needful. 5. That local gifts or income in the mission 
is left to the disposal of its members. These things 
seem to combine free action abroad with general 
supervision at home, in a way not objectionable or 
injurious, and such as may well receive the confidence 



SUPER VISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 233 

of our churches. Exception is indeed sometimes 
taken to the second of these provisos ; personal attach- 
ment sometimes leads donors to wish their gifts to be 
expended by a particular missionary, and on the other 
hand, missionaries sometimes, though but rarely, wish 
to have funds placed at their personal disposal. ' In 
actual practice, this result is sometimes secured ; but 
we think our 'readers generally, as we believe the mis- 
sionaries also in most cases, approve the rule as it 
stands. It certainly appears to afford a good and 
sufficient reason of the judicious use of sacred funds. 
Exception has also been taken to the fourth point 
— the approval of the Board, as if it were adverse to 
liberty of action. We may suggest — 1. That in prac- 
tice this rule has seldom been complained of. With 
missions in so many different countries everybody 
sees that some directing organization is needful. If 
mistakes or evils of any kind occur, they may usually 
be ascribed to the imperfection of the agents, rather 
than of the rule itself. But 2, if serious evils should 
occur, and such as are not remediable by kind Chris- 
tian conference, then our Church system provides an 
authoritative, easily understood, readily applicable 
way of correcting them. 



LIX. 

SUPERVISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

In considering the relations of missionaries and 
mission churches to each other and to the mother 



234 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

Church as these relations affect the question of super- 
vision, we look at the subject from the ground occu- 
pied by the Presbyterian Church. Other churches 
have their respective methods of supervising the 
work of missions, methods formed or modified by doc- 
trinal or ecclesiastical views ; with these we have no 
controversy. Christian union is nowhere more im- 
portant than on missionary ground, and it is nowhere 
more practically exemplified; while yet denomina- 
tional preferences are manifested there, as they must 
be everywhere else so long as men are not agreed in 
their views of doctrine or church order. It is not 
possible to give the Gospel in the abstract to the 
heathen ; men can no more disregard questions of 
church order and of doctrine in China than in America ; 
they present themselves in the most practical forms. 
Christian union is not to be promoted by throwing 
down denominational lines, but in the good old way of 
spreading the truth as it is revealed — doing this more 
and more in the loving spirit of the great Teacher, 
and then when men are agreed they will walk to- 
gether. 

In the meantime our missionary work must, from 
the nature of the case, conform to the views of truth 
and church order which are held by those who engage 
in it. Missions are but the outgrowth of Christian 
piety in the churches at home, streams from fountains 
in distant countries, and the distance to which they 
flow will not make them rise higher than their source. 
It will be found unwise for missionaries to adopt 
measures that are much in advance of the home po- 



SUPER VISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 235 

sition of their churches as to union with other churches. 
.... We are indeed warmly in favor of the union 
of ail Christians, and especially of all Presbyterians, 
but we see clearly that, it must be union founded on 
agreement in the truth — in the doctrines of grace, 
and agreement also, though not so completely, in re- 
spect to the order of the Church. 

The work of missions needs supervision of some 
kind. It is, indeed, a work divinely simple in its 
objects and resting on the principle of faith ; but 
it is vast in its extent, and it is carried on in different 
countries, and among people of various languages ; it 
relates to preaching, teaching, translating the Script- 
ures, organizing churches, transforming the moral 
elements of society ; it involves a considerable ex- 
penditure of money, which is given by numerous and 
widely separated donors, each of whom is entitled to 
be well assured that his gift is expended to the best 
advantage of the great cause ; it includes many de- 
tails, and often it must be fulfilled in new and per- 
plexing circumstances. The missionaries are at first 
usually young men, necessarily possessing but little 
experience, needing counsel ; and they are mostly 
men of such excellence that they welcome, within 
proper limits, the assistance and direction of their 
brethren. It is never the best and ablest missionaries, 
so far as our observation goes, who say, " Send out the 
best men, supply them with all the funds they need, 
and then let them do all the good they can." It is 
not any missionary of judgment and experience, who 
could make the remark, that " your Boards at home 



236 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

should be content to consider themselves a committee 
to raise and send on the funds/' It is not necessary 
to dwell longer, however, on the importance of the 
supervision of missions. It should be properly 
regulated, and by no means irresponsible ; it should 
be intelligent, wise, considerate, and eminently for- 
bearing ; but that it should not be real and sufficient, 
we see no more reason for believing in the work of 
missions than in the work of the ministry at home. 
Indeed, our Church system is pervaded with this 
salutary influence in all its parts. Sessions watch 
over the members of the Church, and these over each 
other in a brotherly spirit ; Presbyteries watch over 
churches and all persons under their care, and so of 
all our church courts. Congregations watch over their 
pastors, informally, but really — with sympathy, kind- 
ness, and prayer, it ever should be. Our professors, 
secretaries, and committees are all men under law, 
and not independent ; and we see not why mission- 
aries should be considered an excepted class, and, so 
far as we are informed, there are few missionaries 
who would covet an independent position. 

How, then, shall this supervision be conducted? 
In a full reply to this inquiry, the home and the for- 
eign aspects of the subject might be separately dis- 
cussed, but we need not pay much attention to this 
division ; the principles involved are of common value 
in the home or executive administration of the work, 
and in the performance of the work on missionary 
ground, as will be apparent further on. Our reply to 
the question is, that so far as the supervision of the 



S UPER VISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 237 

work of missions is official, it should be made through 
our Presbyteries, Synods, Assemblies, and through such 
committee of missions as the General Assembly may 
appoint. To the former part of this answer no Pres- 
byterian will object. In practice, the missions of oar 
body are conformed to our theory ; both missionaries 
and churches are connected with the Church at home, 
amenable to its authority, and fully enjoying the bene- 
fits of its supervision. Where there are ministers 
enough in the mission they should be organized as a 
Presbytery, and it is an object of desire to have Pres- 
byteries formed in every missionary field as soon as the 
number of ministers will permit. We need not dwell 
on the subject of presbyterial superintendence, the 
same substantially in all parts of the world, and 
familiar to our readers. So far as the work of mis- 
sions is concerned, it includes whatever is necessary 
in the ecclesiastical relations of missionaries and their 
churches, both to each other and to the Church 
supporting the mission. 

While this supervision of Presbytery is not repu- 
diated by any of our brethren, it is injured by two opin- 
ions ; indeed these virtually set aside the superintend- 
ence of our Presbyterian system in the mission field. 
One of these opinions maintains that the missionaries 
should not become members of Presbyteries of which 
native ministers are members, but should retain their 
connection with Presbyteries at home ; the other 
maintains that the native churches should be inde- 
pendent of our churches. According to one of these 
opinions, the Church at home could exercise no ec- 



238 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

clesiastical supervision whatever over the native con- 
verts of her missionaries ; and according to the other, 
the missionaries would be virtually irresponsible, for 
no Presbytery in this country could exercise more 
than a nominal supervision over brethren living on 
the other side of the world. The situation of the 
native churches in this matter is in some respects 
peculiar. Too far distant to send commissioners to 
the General Assembly, speaking a different language, 
mostly in very straitened pecuniary circumstances, it 
is obvious that these native brethren can not enjoy the 
full benefit of our presbyterial system ; nobody claims 
this on their behalf. But this should not preclude 
their enjoying such advantages as maybe within their 
reach — the sympathy, care, and appellate jurisdiction 
of our Synods and Assemblies, so far as the nature of 
the case permits. Practical matters of great moment 
may be brought before the higher church courts from 
the missionary Presbyteries without personal represen- 
tation, and from individual members also in many in- 
stances, just as in similar cases at home. Even if the 
Presbytery abroad were related to the General As- 
sembly in all respects as are the Presbyteries at home, 
it is not to be conceded that a native appellant or 
memorialist would not receive justice at the hands of 

the distant court of his brethren The relation 

between the native churches and their far distant 
mother Church, moreover, is only temporary and 
transitional. While they are children, let them enjoy 
whatever benefits they may be able to derive from 
their friends in another land ; it will be the prayer of 



SUPER VISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 239 

all that they may soon be able to dispense with aid 
from abroad. Happy for them and for us, the hour 
when they can stand alone as a native church ! In 
the meantime, we are glad to think of the native 
church members and office-bearers at Corisco, at 
Ningpo, at Bangkok, and at other missionary stations, 
as Christian brethren of our communion, holding the 
same doctrines, worshipping God in the same order, 
and represented more or less completely in the same 
ecclesiastical system. 

The other opinion would keep the missionaries in 
connection with the Presbyteries at home, and sepa- 
rate them from any ecclesiastical relations with the 
native churches. This view seems to us objectionable 
on various grounds, while we can see hardly anything 
to be gained by it. If, indeed, the local Presbytery 
were not connected with the General Assembly, it 
might happen that the foreign members, being out- 
numbered by the native members, would suffer incon- 
venience from being subject to brethren less educated 
and less qualified to judge than themselves ; but this 
is to suppose an improbable case. It is altogether 
likely that the missionaries will always possess 
quite as much influence in Presbytery as they ought 
to have ; indeed, the practical danger will be that 
of their having too much influence. They will 
need to guard against overshadowing their native 
brethren, and to be watchful to put honor upon them 
in Presbyterial proceedings; and if irregular meas- 
ures should be adopted by them against the voice of 
the missionaries, a corrective influence might be 



240 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

drawn from the appellate action of the Church in this 
country, and the missionaries could easily be shielded 
from serious injury. 

Let us take a good example, as to both these points 
and others also. We see a company of missionaries 
landed on the island of Corisco, brought together 
from different Presbyteries at home. After some 
time they can preach in Benga, and they are called to 
organize churches, to train and license candidates for 
the ministry, to ordain minister's of the Gospel, some 
as evangelists, others as pastors of churches. Here is 
Presbyterial work to be done. Let the missionary 
Presbyters constitute themselves into the Presbytery 
of Corisco for its orderly performance, under the 
rules of the General Assembly which provide for such 
cases. The membership of this Presbytery will con- 
sist of all the ministers and an elder from each church 
in a certain district, agreeably to the well-known 
order of our standards. We would not restrict clerical 
membership in this body to native ministers ; we 
would not exclude the foreign ministers, the founders 
of the churches, because : I. According to our theory, 
these ministers are all of official parity — no matter 
for their diversity of gifts, or their difference of race. 
We repudiate the idea that the missionaries have 
some quasi-episcopal function as evangelists, or any 
official superiority over their native brethren, and that 
they are to stand aloof from them, and to be regarded 
by them as of a superior order. Presbyterians have 
not so learned Christ and his Church. These min- 
isters at Corisco, as the ministers of Christ, occupy 



SUPER VISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 241 

the same grade in his house, neither higher nor lower, 
because some of them are Americans and others 
Bengas. 

2. These ministers can, as members of the same 
Presbytery, best watch over each other's ministerial 
character and conduct. Obviously this is true as to 
the native ministers, who are as yet inexperienced, 
but partially educated, in need of counsel and co- 
operation, and whose wants in these respects can be 
supplied as occasion reouires in the wide circle of cir- 
cumstances and duties which occupy the attention of 
Presbytery. The deliberations and proceedings of 
this body will afford to them an excellent school of 
ministerial training, and its fraternal intercourse will 
prevent or remove misunderstandings between the 
foreign and the native ministers. 

The benefits of this common Presbyterial union of 
the missionaries must not be considered as only one- 
sided. The foreign minister may derive much advan- 
tage from membership in the local Presbytery, espe- 
cially as compared with membership in a Presbytery 
in a distant country. He may learn much from being 
thus brought into close official contact with his native 
brethren ; he may be shielded sometimes from re- 
proach ; excited to greater fidelity, and comforted by 
brotherly sympathy ; he may be aided in overcoming 
the peculiar temptations which assail him. An ex- 
ample may be cited here, without impropriety. An or- 
dained missionary, not at Corisco, but in another part 
of Africa, was permitted to fall before temptation. 
He was connected with an interior Presbytery in the 



242 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

southern part of our country, and after long delay, 
owing to the difficulty of action by a Presbytery so 
far distant, he was eventually suspended from the 
ministry. Probably this minister might have been 
kept from falling, if he had been surrounded by the 
kindly restraints and benefits of a Presbytery on the 
ground. It is pleasant to add, that the suspension 
was subsequently removed by a Presbytery formed in 
that country. 

3. In this manner the best supervision of the na- 
tive churches can be secured. It would be difficult 
to say whether the foreign or the native element 
could be eliminated from Presbytery in respect to 
this supervision with least injury to the churches. 
The questions of casuistry, the cases of discipline, 
the measures for the spread of the Gospel, all need 
the united action of both. Each may be helpful to 
the other, not only in private unofficial intercourse, 
but in Presbyterial proceedings. We do not believe, 
however, that the foreign ministers should long act 
as pastors of the native churches. At first they must 
do so from necessity, but the continuance of this rela- 
tion is not to be desired. In too many respects do 
the foreign ministers differ from their native brethren 
— in previous training, in social habits and usages, in 
all domestic associations ; besides, they have other 
and wider -spreading work, which precludes their 
being long restricted to the care of a native church. 
On the other hand, the native minister is well quali- 
fied to be the under-shepherd of the flock ; and only 
with such a pastor can any native church learn the 



SUPER VISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 243 

duty of supporting the ministry of the Gospel. Yet 
in many things the native pastor will long need the 
counsel and assistance of his foreign brethren, and it 
may be their protection also, as members of the same 
Presbytery. In all these matters the aim of the mis- 
sionaries should be so to mould and direct the native 
Christian community, clerical and lay, as to dispense 
with foreign dependence and assistance at the earliest 
possible period. 

It is not an objection to the foregoing outline, to 
say that these missionary Presbyteries are and will be 
mainly American in their membership. At first, of 
course, they are ; but they will not so continue if 
God be still with his servants in their work. How 
soon these temporary relations between the churches 
in Africa, India, China, and elsewhere, and our Gen- 
eral Assembly will be dissolved, by their advance in 
growth and strength, we do not venture to predict. 
In some cases it will be at an earlier day than in 
others. If the intercommunication of nations con- 
tinues to increase in speed and facility, the difficul- 
ties of the present relations between the missionary 
churches and their mother Church will diminish ; but 
nevertheless both parties should pray for the day of 
their happy separation. In the meantime, while our 
Church will still be the Church in the United States 
of America, its representation may include her sons 
and their spiritual offspring in other countries, as the 
civil government of the country extends its protec- 
tion over our citizens and their children in foreign 
lands 



244 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

We shall not enter at any length on the second offi- 
cial way of exercising missionary supervision, through 
such Committee or Board of Missions as the General 
Assembly may appoint. This kind of supervision is 
regarded with jealousy by some. We may readily 
concede that an irresponsible Committee, or one amen- 
able only to public opinion, might wield its super- 
intendence injuriously, while those who suffered 
thereby would have little hope of redress ; and we 
also concede that any Committee may make mis- 
takes, even though it be composed of men who are 
under law, and who are governed by the best motives. 
But on the theory of our Church these Committees 
do not supersede in any way our regular church 
courts, nor in the least degree interfere with their 
proper action ; in fact, these Committees or Boards 
are but business organizations, created by the Gen- 
eral Assembly, subject to its modification, and liable 
to be dissolved at its pleasure. All their proceedings, 
moreover, pass annually under the review of the As- 
sembly ; and it is easy for any missionary, or even 
for any member amongst the hundreds of thousands 
of our communicants, to obtain in an orderly way, 
usually through his Presbytery, an examination of 
alleged grievances or misuse of power. Let appli- 
cation be made in a Christian spirit to those who are 
intrusted with the oversight of the work of missions 
— first, to the executive officers ; next, if need be, to 
the Board. If further examination is needed, then 
let application be made to the General Assembly, 
through the usual forms. It speaks well for the 



SUPER VISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 245 

Board and its Executive Committee and officers, and 
for the missionaries ; or rather it speaks well for the 
correctness of our missionary system, that in the 
period of more than thirty years since the work of 
foreign missions was entered upon in its present 
methods by the Synod of Pittsburg, no complaint 
has been laid before the General Assembly touching 
the administration of the missionary interests of our 
Church. 

Let it be remembered that the Board, as appointed 
by the General Assembly, is not an ecclesiastical 
body, but a kind of permanent or standing commit- 
tee of that body, " to which, for the time being, shall 
be entrusted, with such directions and instructions as 
may from time to time be given by the General 
Assembly, the superintendence of the foreign mis- 
sionary operations of the Presbyterian Church." This 
Board or Committee might be dispensed with, and 
its functions performed by the General Assembly it- 
self, if requisite attention could be given by that 
body to many matters of business which are involved 
in the missionary work. Or a Presbytery, two or 
more Presbyteries, a Synod, or several Synods, might 
engage directly in this work ; but they would soon 
find great inconvenience in attending to its business 
matters, and to the superintendence of missionary 
affairs in the field of labor. These would be found 
indeed so onerous as to prove a fatal hinderance in 
most cases to the prosecution of the work by such 
bodies, in their formal action as church courts. The 
Board becomes a convenient and useful part of our 



246 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

agency. This Board might be appointed or consti- 
tuted in different methods. The simpler these are, 
the better ; and the more closely the Board and its 
executive officers are connected with and dependent 
on the General Assembly, undoubtedly the better it 
will prove for all parties, and all the interests of the 
cause of missions. 

We take the Board as it stands, charged with " the 
superintendence of the foreign missionary operations " 
of our Church. These include the choice of mission- 
ary fields, the appointment of missionaries, making 
provision for their support and that of their work, 
the general oversight of their proceedings, as well as 
of many matters of detail connected with the welfare 
of families so far separated from their friends and 
country. A more singularly miscellaneous class of 
duties and interests can be found in no part of our 
commercial metropolis than is found to centre at the 
Mission House, and many of these interests are of 
the highest importance. Beside the various matters 
abroad which require supervision, the home depart- 
ment of the work must receive due attention ; this 
includes the care of missionary funds, the preparation 
of annual reports, the publication of missionary in- 
telligence, a remarkably varied correspondence, etc. 
The least inspection of this list will suggest questions 
concerning details, which we must pass by with the 
remark that these administrative affairs are so per- 
formed and made matters of record, as to admit of 
being readily understood. The accountability of 
those engaged in these things is complete. 



SUPERVISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 247 

Looking now on the duties entrusted to the Board 
with particular reference to the supervision of 
the missions, we note, 1. It is not ecclesiastical ; it 
does not take into its purview any ecclesiastical ques- 
tions whatever. 2. It follows mainly the line of 
pecuniary outlay. Is it proposed to send out a new 
missionary, to establish a new mission, to occupy a 
new station, to erect a dwelling-house, to open a 
school ? All of these are things calling for the ex- 
penditure of the missionary funds of the Church, and 
in all of them the Committee not only may with pro- 
priety, but must of necessity, if it would be faithful 
in its " superintendence," be satisfied as to the expe- 
diency of such expenditure. Were there but one 
mission, or but a single missionary, the funds of the 
Church might be devoted to the work in progress with 
less need of minute supervision. It would then be 
practicable to transmit funds without much scrutiny 
of the way in which they would be expended — 
though even then inquiry, deliberation, and judgment 
on the part of the home executive officers could do 
no harm ; but the case is different when several mis- 
sions and numerous missionaries are supported by 
the Church. The apportionment of the missionary 
funds becomes then a question. of relative importance, 
and one that, from the nature of the case, must be 
decided by the Central Committee, after viewing the 
whole field of labor. The appointment of mission- 
aries to different missions must be made also from 
this same central point of view. As to their posts of 
labor, however, the missionaries are always consulted. 



248 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

and usually the reasons which lead the Committee to 
propose to them the occupancy of a particular field, 
will be found to be such as will satisfy their judg- 
ment ; besides, none are appointed to any mission 
without their consent. All this has much to do with 
-the future supervision of their work, as from the be- 
ginning the relations between the missionaries and 
the executive officers are those which should exist 
between Christian brethren who are engaged in a 
common enterprise. 

The distribution of funds among different missions, 
and to each mission separately, is also conducted on 
the basis of a common interest, though here a some- 
what different responsibility attaches to the laborers 
in the missionary rooms and those in the fields 
abroad. In usual practice, the subject is found 
to be arranged without friction. The missionaries 
make estimates of the expenditures of the coming 
year, giving details specifying their own support, that 
of their native assistants, and the expenses of the 
various departments of the work. These estimates 
from all the missions are considered by the home 
committee, acting with such particular knowledge of 
most, if not all, the matters concerned, as enables 
them to form an independent judgment of their ex- 
pediency ; in this way a wise conclusion is reached as 
to the amount of funds that should be transmitted to 
each mission, or rather the amount that can be sent 
in view of the probable income of the Board. Two 
things are obvious here, I. That there must be a 
central or home committee to take the executive 



SUPERVISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 249 

charge of these matters ; and 2. That this committee 
and its officers stand in a twofold relation — on one 
side, to the churches at home ; on the other, to the 
missionaries abroad. 

It will readily be seen that in the oversight of 
matters of such moment, and particularly of a some- 
what large pecuniary outlay, in so many different coun- 
tries and ways, there is need on the part of the home 
agents of a wise discretion ; of firmness also, coupled 
with self-distrust and a reliance on the guidance of 
Divine grace. But inasmuch as all engaged in the 
missionary work, at home and abroad, are men pro- 
fessedly actuated by the mind and spirit of Christ, 
as they hold the same views of doctrine and church 
order, as they have had very much the same religious 
and social training, they will probably adopt the same 
views of missionary procedure ; and thus the super- 
vision of the work of missions will usually be a 
matter of quiet and pleasant duty, involving no un- 
reasonable exactions on the one side, and complied 
with on the other in that spirit of good regard for 
order which characterizes our body. And on both 
sides; it is of course well understood that the General 
Assembly is a common appellate and controlling body 
— the true Board of Missions in our Church, whose 
decisions of all questions are open, conformed to 
well-known rules, and as likely to be fair and correct 
as could be expected in view of the imperfection of 
all things in this world. This statement of the sub- 
ject will tend to show that the relations of the mis- 
sionaries and the mission churches to the Church at 
11* 



250 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

home, will in most cases be such as will prove accept- 
able to all parties. Excepted cases will occur, and 
such have occurred, and as extreme cases test the 
principles involved in ordinary routine, let us glance 
for a moment at one referred to above. It was a 
case of scandal. There was no Presbytery on the 
ground to deal with it ; for various reasons the action 
of the Presbytery at home could not be had without 
much delay. The facts were placed before the home 
committee on testimony that could not be reasonably 
doubted ; but this committee, not being an ecclesias- 
tical body, could take no steps of judicial process. 
It could, however, protect the interests of the cause 
and the missionary funds of the Church, by ^dissolving 
the relation of the offending, missionary to the Board ; 
and this was done, while the facts of the case were 
transmitted to his Presbytery. It was a grave pro- 
ceeding on the part of the committee, one not taken 
without full consideration, and one for which it stood 
prepared to answer, if necessary, at the highest tribu- 
nal of the Church. The subsequent action of the 
Presbytery fully sustained that of the committee ; 
but if it had not, then the case would have neces- 
sarily been transferred to the decision of the General 
Assembly. All this proves clearly that the ecclesias- 
tical, and the business or executive, supervision of the 
missions are, I. Distinct from each other; 2. Sub- 
stantial and real ; 3. Harmonious ; or if not in the 
first instance in agreement, then 4. In the end all 
can be ordered aright by our highest church au- 
thority. 



SUPERVISION OF FOREIGN MISSIONS. 251 

We have said nothing of the other methods of 
keeping the missions under proper supervision, and 
of regulating the whole missionary work, methods of 
which some profess to make exclusive use — such as 
the appointment of men as missionaries who are of 
the right stamp, trusting to the piety of the Church, 
depending on public opinion, relying on the grace of 
God. Assuredly, we do not undervalue nor disparage 
any of these things, when we put honor on the eccle- 
siastical and executive arrangements of our body. 
It is our happiness to enjoy all that the most " volun- 
tary " of our Christian brethren could claim in these 
respects, and in addition thereto we have the settled 
and wise order of our Church. But we hesitate not 
to avow that our chief trust for harmony and effi- 
ciency, in all our missionary methods and labors, in 
the intercourse of missionaries with each other and 
with the executive committee, and in the care of the 
churches, is found in the fulfilment of our Lord's 
gracious promise, " Lo, I am with you alway" — a 
promise given expressly to encourage the missionary 
work of his people. It is the mind of Christ in his 
servants, that lowly mind so wonderful in the Lord 
of glory, that disposition not to please himself, that 
humility and love which led him to wash his disciples' 
feet, that devotedness which made him account it as 
his meat and his drink to do the will of his heavenly 
Father ; it is these gracious dispositions, and espec- 
ially the fulfilment of our Lord's last promise to his 
disciples, that will best guard. both the missionaries 



252 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

and their brethren at home against occasions of 
offence, just as it is divine aid and power that will 
give sure success to this work of their hands. 



LX. 
MISSIONARY SUPERINTENDENTS. 

SEVERAL years ago an intimate friend of a mission- 
ary of the Board applied to one of its executive 
officers, requesting that the missionary should be ap- 
pointed superintendent of the mission with which he 
was connected. This application was sincerely made, 
though probably without the knowledge of the mis- 
sionary, and it was respectfully declined. 

In the theory of the Presbyterian Church, one 
minister can not be entrusted with the official or 
semi-official oversight of other ministers, nor with 
any control over the churches. This superintendence 
belongs to the Presbytery. In other denominations 
different theories are held. The Episcopal Church 
has its bishops. The Methodist Church has, in some 
cases, its superintendents, with functions superadded 
to those of its presiding elders, and its travelling 
bishops — at least in the American Methodist Church 
— of late years visit its missions. The Independent 
churches in theory, we believe, have their church rela- 
tions separate from the missions and from the native 
churches,but their missionaries are expected to exercise 



MISSIONARY SUPERINTENDENTS. 253 

quasi-episcopal supervision over the latter — perhaps 
informal, but we suppose real. To some extent these 
diversities are increased by considerations of race. 
One of the best English Episcopal Missionary Societies 
seems to favor, at least in India, native dioceses and 
bishops separate from those of purely English con- 
nection ; two dioceses and two bishops might thus 
occupy the same geographical district. Even among 
Presbyterians of our country there is in some cases a 
disposition to separate the American ministers from 
the native church organization, mainly, we suppose, 
for reasons of race, including of course its usual con- 
comitants, difference of language, of social usages, etc. 
Here at home some would organize separate Presby- 
teries for the white and the colored churches. These 
cases look as if some of our brethren are afraid to 
face the practical results of our own church principles. 
The study of church order, viewed in its relations 
to foreign evangelization, is one of much interest ; 
but we do not enter on it here. It will be found, as 
we suppose, that some forms of Church organization 
are better than others for the spread of the Gospel in 
unevangelized countries ; but we are glad to believe 
that the blessing of God is given to all the efforts of 
his people, of whatever name, in making the Gos- 
pel known amongst men. This full sympathy with 
our Christian brethren of other churches does not lead 
us, however, as the same good feeling would not lead 
them, to undervalue the points of diversity. And so 
we return to the subject of this paper for some brief 
remarks. 



254 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

It is not needful here to defend the principle of 
presbyterial supervision of ministers and churches, as 
distinguished from the supervision of individuals, by 
whatever plausible name the latter may be called. It 
ought to be enough to say that the latter is radically 
unpresbyterian. But it may be well to show in a few 
words how the two methods may work in actual life. 
It may be conceded at once that " the one-man 
power " has certain advantages in the promptness or 
celerity of its movement, and usually its advocates 
make a great deal of the progress thereby achieved. 
It may also be conceded that an individual bishop or 
semi-bishop, of attractive personal qualities, may gain 
influence, and so accomplish results at first which the 
larger body of good men in Presbytery might not so 
readily secure. Yet haste is not always speed. It is 
often marked by mistakes and blunders. First im- 
pressions, moreover, proverbially need revision. Be- 
sides, the work of one man is likely to be transient, 
like his own life. And it may be limited for want of 
the right men to carry it forward ; such men, willing 
to be superintended by an individual, may be hard to 
find. Thus far the case of an attractive, magnetic 
superintendent has been presupposed. But the super- 
intendent may be a man of little judgment, however 
great his zeal ; or of poor insight as to men, however 
" popular " his gifts ; or of large self-confidence and 
of no disinterested aims, however untiring his indus- 
try. The history of matters recently in great diffi- 
culty under an English bishop in India is monitory. 
All the energy and enterprise of the superintendent 



MISSIONARY SUPERINTENDENTS. 255 

may therefore be subject to considerable abatement, 
and may often do more harm than good. 

Even when such drawbacks do not mark the super- 
intendent's course, and when only modest men of real 
merit are employed in this non-scriptural office, their 
work is not only open to the objection of its not 
being in the line of our church order, narrow, and 
liable to be attended with friction, while in many re- 
spects irresponsible, but it is mainly a work individual 
in its movement, and one that lacks the power and 
permanence of such associated labor as is secured by 
the fellowship of co-presbyters. These should be as- 
sociated in Presbyteries composed of not too many 
members. Oversized Presbyteries are apt to lose 
their power, and are usually governed by a few men, 
whose action too readily takes on the type of personal 
superintendency. 

Give us the apparently slow work of a moderate- 
sized Presbytery ; if indeed slower for a time, yet 
deeper and more stable, one that unites all forces, 
moves with divinely organized direction and energy, 
makes few mistakes, remains a permanent power, and 
full of blessing to ministers and churches. In our 
foreign work especially it is of great moment that all 
its ministerial agencies should be in harmony with our 
church principles, and with the uniform practice of 
former years. 



2 56 MISSIONAR Y PA PERS. 

LXI. 
TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION OF MISSIONARIES. 

The idea of giving the Gospel to the heathen is 
from Heaven, inspired in the hearts of men by 
Divine grace. In its development, like most thincrs 
that endure, this idea takes the form of growth ; it is 
not like a house built, or a machine made, but a seed 
planted, which springs up and grows. As a growth, 
its progress will be varied and subject to modifying 
causes ; so a plant is affected by soil, climate, and 
culture. The growth of the idea of missions differs 
in each denomination of Christians, but all Protestant 
churches agree in their view of the object of the 
missionary enterprise. Their differing means of pro- 
moting this object depend on their doctrinal belief, 
and their opinions concerning church government and 
order, perhaps also on their national customs, yet this 
diversity is not such as to discredit the divine origin 
of their work, nor to take aught from the idea of 
growth, each after its kind. Passing all but the 
Presbyterian type of this idea, we recognize this as 
developed in beautiful accord with the general church 
system bearing this venerable name ; and in this sys- 
tem no feature is more distinctive than that which 
relates to the training of the Gospel ministry, nor 
anything more important than what concerns the 
efficiency of this ministry in actual service. In 
both we make most of the Divine element, be 
it that of the Holy Spirit in his personal work 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 257 

of grace in the souls of men, or that of inspired 
truth as set forth in Holy Scripture, or that of provi- 
dential ordering which directs all things. . But coupled 
with reverence for God in the whole provision of the 
ministry, we also recognize the duty of the Church, 
within certain limits, to see that her ministers are well 
prepared for their work, and well employed in it. 
The Church acts on this view in her educational and 
presbyterial systems, and in her supervision of her 
ministers. In all that relates to this subject at home, 
matters are, in a good degree, settled in the judgment 
of the Church. As to its work abroad, which is of 
but recent date, and which is performed under such 
widely varying conditions, it is not surprising that 
somewhat differing opinions should obtain. Without 
attempting to describe these varying judgments, or to 
discuss many of them, we give a few pages to the 
subject of the training and the distribution of mis- 
sionaries. 

Rightly or wrongly, most of the Protestant churches 
rely on volunteers for missionaries, and this fact must 
be kept in view as preliminary to the consideration of 
their proper training, if not also of their best dis- 
tribution. Even in the few instances in which train- 
ing-schools for missionaries have been instituted, the 
young men thus educated are only such as have 
offered themselves for the work. Certain advantages 
are no doubt secured on this volunteer system, with 
some drawbacks also, and with the loss of important 
qualifications that would be obtained on the plan of 
having missionaries called directly by the Church to 



258 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

engage in this service. The day will come, perhaps, 
when this plan can be adopted ; in the meantime, we 
take the case as it stands, and leave in abeyance the 
whole question of a call to missionary life. On any 
theory of this call, excepting one, some degree of train- 
ing for future labor would be considered useful. If 
missionaries ought to be those only who need no other 
qualification than the consciousness of an inward call 
of the Holy Spirit to serve Christ among the heathen, 
the training of the schools and the experience of 
years may be dispensed with. We find no warrant 
for this opinion in the Scriptures, and little counte- 
nance to it in practice ; it is only too easy for some 
men to mistake their own impulses, and to misjudge 
the circumstances of their lives, so as to fancy that 
they should go out as missionaries. As an example, 
one out of several, we knew a man who was over 
forty years of age, having a wife and six children, 
with no education beyond the simplest rudiments, 
without clear religious views, but possessing energy 
in more than ordinary degree, who left his home in 
the interior and came with his family to one of our 
seaport cities, under the sincere conviction that it was 
his duty to go, without delay, as a missionary to 
China. His application to be sent out having been 
declined by more than one missionary society, he then 
engaged in some kind of work to earn a support for 
himself and family, and died after a few years, — his 
completed course showing that he was not called to 
be a foreign missionary by the unerring Spirit. 
While such mistakes may be made, we so highly rev- 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 259 

erence the sovereign and gracious work of the Holy 
Spirit in the hearts of men, that we should expect to 
see happy results from the missionary labors of many 
thus taught, even though they might not be learned 
in the studies of the college or the theological school ; 
yet these good men might expect, unless in extraor- 
dinary instances, to have their usefulness increased by 
proper training. 

At the opposite extreme, we find those who make 
everything of training, and little of what we under- 
stand by the call of the Spirit. Missionaries are to 
be made as lawyers or doctors are made, they are to 
be educated for the work. The often-lauded school 
at Rome for the education of missionaries, gives us a 
striking example of this idea. Young men are 
brought from Asia, Africa, America, and the islands 
of the sea, to this school to be trained, and then 
they are sent back to their own country as Romish 
priests. Possessing the vernacular language as their 
mother tongue, and taught in the wisdom of the 
Romans, they are sometimes held up for our imitation. 
We often hear the question, why do not our Mission- 
ary Boards bring some of the converts in India or 
China to this country, to be educated, and then to be 
sent back as missionaries? The question is a fair one, 
and the school at Rome is in some respects its 
answer. Were it our object to train up a class of 
ritualists, missionaries whose main duties would be 
the performance of ceremonies, men whose knowledge 
of the Scriptures and whose experience of Divine 
grace counted for little, agents whose service was to 



260 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

be regulated by their allegiance to the vicar of Rome 
rather than to our blessed Lord, then might we insti- 
tute a school of this kind ; but for such training as 
our missionaries need, there is a more excellent way, 
— as we shall see further on. 

Another phase of missionary education is repre- 
sented by the excellent Protestant schools at Basle 
and Islington, in which young men are in preparation 
for the foreign field through the whole course of 
study, usually extending over several years, — at Basle 
occupying six years. In these schools, a good degree 
of practical education is given ; they have sent forth 
many valuable missionaries, some of whom have been 
men of superior scholarship. Such schools may be 
expedient in countries where young men of limited 
pecuniary means can not readily gain access to the 
colleges and universities ; but in our country no diffi- 
culty of this kind stands in the way, and we should 
greatly deprecate the training of missionaries as a 
class separate from most ministers of the Church. 
They would come to be regarded as of a less honored 
type, and would lose the sympathy of many Christian 
people, while ministers at home would cease to feel 
the incentives to the duty of sustaining the work of 
missions, which grow out of their common education 
with their brethren in the foreign field. The result 
would be a diminished number of missionaries, and 
very likely the sending out of inferior men. 

The true idea is that missionaries should be edu- 
cated like other ministers, so far as college and semi- 
nary studies are concerned. Their support during 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 261 

their course of studies should be provided in the same 
way, either by themselves and their friends, or by the 
aid of our Educational Boards. In all respects they 
ought to be men of the same character, attainments, 
and social position with their clerical brethren at 
home, equally qualified for their work, enjoying the 
esteem of their classmates who are pastors of the 
churches, and having the confidence and sympathy of 
the churches themselves. Their missionary work, in 
all its varied duties, will then be fulfilled with ability 
corresponding to the average efficiency of ministers 
at home ; and a kind consideration will be given by 
the Church to the claims of superannuated or infirm 
missionaries, their widows, and children, such as could 
be expected only for those who stood on the same 
footing with similar classes in this country. 

Our educational system sends forth men of varied 
gifts, some of them likely to be far more useful than 
others ; we covet for missionary service men eminent 
in grace and also in gifts ; in no instance should men 
of qualifications below the average be sent, while 
there is need of talents of the highest order. The 
idea that any good man will answer for the heathen 
can hardly be too severely reprobated. To lay the 
foundations of the Church in Africa or Siam requires 
master workmen. To become scholars of eminence 
in the languages of China or India is no task for men 
of feeble parts, and no man should be sent forth, or 
should continue in the missionary field, who can not 
in a few years become well acquainted with the ver- 
nacular language. To deal wisely with questions that 



262 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

spring up calls for mature general scholarship, insight 
into the motives of action, perception of the conse- 
quences, near and remote, of measures presented for 
one's approval ; while to sway the minds of men 
needs in every nation very much the same high order 
of mental and moral power. It is Divine grace, how- 
ever, which chiefly qualifies men for usefulness, and 
we covet most in missionaries earnest love and faith, 
manifested in humble, patient, unceasing labors for 
Christ and his kingdom. And for acquiring these 
qualifications of usefulness, our Church arrangements 
as now existing furnish admirable provision. 

A Chair of instruction in missions in our theologi- 
cal schools has been advocated. More than thirty 
years ago something of this kind was under the con- 
sideration of our General Assembly. The Free 
Church of Scotland has lately [1867] adopted this 
measure. Something, indeed much, may be conceded 
as of value in an arrangement of studies in the Theo- 
logical Seminary, which would furnish lectures, in- 
formation, and counsel concerning missions,— having 
reference to the wonderful openings for the spread of 
the Gospel in our day, and also to the diversified nat- 
ure of modern evangelistic efforts. It were easy, 
however, to expect too much from a professorship of 
this kind. No one man could give lessons, for in- 
stance, in all the languages spoken in our missions ; 
nor could he always impart the counsel which young 
men need as to particular fields of labor, departments 
of work, adaptation of health to climate, and similar 
practical matters, some of which vary every year in 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 263 

their relation to different countries ; we refer to such 
cases as often call for the best consideration of our 
secretaries of foreign missions. If the missionary 
professor were expected, moreover, to spend a part of 
his time among the churches, seeking to foster an 
interest in his great theme, he would find it difficult 
in our widely extended country to engage in this ser- 
vice without neglecting the duties of the class-room 
and the preparation required for these duties. We 
should think the German idea of Professor Extraor- 
dinary preferable in some respects, as opening the 
way for the services of returned missionaries in lect- 
ures on their respective fields of labor. It might be 
invidious to select men fitted to render the best ser- 
vice, but if men like Lowrie, Culbertson, and Fuller- 
ton — not to speak of any but missionaries who have 
finished their course, — could be employed to give sev- 
eral lectures, each on his own field of labor, its people, 
their language, religion, the work of missions among 
them, — spending a few weeks at each of our Theo- 
logical Seminaries, the result might be happy. There 
may be objections even to a modified arrangement of 
this kind, and at any rate its practical details would 
require careful consideration and adjustment. The 
working of the Scotch plan will be watched with in- 
terest. In a small old settled country like Scotland, 
among a homogeneous people, in churches all com- 
pletely moulded by the Westminster type of theology, 
a missionary professor of eminent talents and surpass- 
ing eloquence, such a man as the venerable missionary 
at whose instance this Chair has been founded, could 



264 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

exert a happy influence on behalf of the cause of 
missions in all parts of. the land, as well as among all 
the sons of the prophets. It is well that the experi- 
ment is to be made under such favorable conditions. 
If it is found to work well there, the churches of other 
countries may inquire into its adaptation to their cir- 
cumstances. [It is now understood that the expecta- 
tions at first indulged as to the usefulness of this 
Chair have not been fulfilled. It may still be of great 
service in other respects, 1880]. In the meantime the 
missionary training of our candidates for the ministry 
is in good hands, and rests on correct ideas. The 
support of the work of missions is one of the duties 
of all Christians. The teaching of the pulpit, ex- 
pounding the word of God, is the best human agency 
for leading Christian people to perform this duty. 
To aid this teaching, our Theological Seminaries are 
founded. Some of their students go abroad, others 
remain at home, both serving the Lord ; and both 
need instruction while attending the seminary in re- 
gard to the missionary aspect of their vocation. 
Each professor gives instruction concerning it in his 
own department. All the leading divisions of our 
course of theological study have direct bearings on 
the work of Christian missions, in its home support 
and its development abroad. It is a work inseparably 
connected with right views of Scripture Exegesis, 
Theological Doctrine, Church History, Government 
in the Church, Homiletics, etc. ; and the practical 
spirit of missions is closely related to the life of piety 
in the soul, which is fostered by the devotional ser- 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 265 

vices and the pastoral influence of professors, so 
greatly prized in our theological institutions. We 
may rest therefore in the conclusion, that the ordinary 
training of our ministers is the best training of our 
missionaries. Even the special provision of evangel- 
istic instruction, if it were deemed expedient to make 
it, would inure almost equally to the benefit of all 
our ministers ; indeed its bearing on the ministry at 
home might be one of its main recommendations. It 
can not be questioned that one of the greatest wants 
of the ministry in our time is piety of the order 
needed by our foreign missionaries, — of the type so 
nobly exemplified by all ministers of the Gospel in 
the first ages of the Christian Church. If a missionary 
professorship would aid in supplying this want, it 
might well be founded without delay. 

Thus far we have considered the training of mis- 
sionaries of our own country ; the training of native 
missionaries in all unevangelized countries is not less 
essential to the prevalence of the Christian faith. 
The idea that missionaries must be sent forth from 
Christian countries in sufficient number to preach the 
Gospel to every creature, we apprehend, is supported 
neither by Apostolic precedent nor by enlightened 
reason ; without the restoration of the gift of tongues 
we see not how it would be practicable. In the native 
churches of every people will be found men that can 
be set apart to the work of the ministry ; and these 
men "will possess superior advantages over foreign 
ministers, in their knowledge of the language, ideas, 
associations, usages, and way of life of their country- 



266 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

men, in their living in their own climate and at small 
pecuniary expense ; in short, in their being at home 
among their own people. Native ministers are now 
pastors of churches or evangelists in China, Burmah, 
India, West and South Africa, Western Asia, the 
islands of the seas, — men eminent in piety and in use- 
ful labors for the spread of the Gospel. In all un- 
evangelized nations the great want is that of such 
men, in number equal to the work of teaching every 
creature, and in qualifications so far advanced as to 
make them capable of rightly dividing the Word of 
God. Our missionary policy and plans should be di- 
rected to the training of these men, or else our hopes 
will inevitably end in disappointment, — their training, 
not their support. Their support is indeed a matter 
of pressing moment. It may have in most cases to 
be provided at first from abroad, but it should be so 
ministered as to be readily turned over to the native 
Christian community at the earliest practicable mo- 
ment ; and in the meantime the native ministers 
should not be encouraged to adopt the expensive 
ways of European and American social life. This 
unfits them for intercourse with their own people, and 
increases the burden of the churches in the support 
of the ministry. Our remarks must be restricted, 
however, to the training of these native ministers. 

The Roman Church, as we have seen, brings candi- 
dates for the priesthood from their native country to 
Rome for higher instruction. Besides the objections 
already suggested to this measure, these young men 
arj likely to be injured by acquiring the habits of 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 267 

foreigners ; and this difficulty would be increased 
among Protestant native candidates on our views of 
domestic life in the ministry, according to which mar- 
ried men — not too early married — are as a rule to be 
preferred. It would be a calamity if our Hindu or 
Chinese brethren, brought to our theological semina- 
ries to be trained for the ministry, should return to 
their own country in some respects denationalized, 
having learned to look with contempt on the dress, 
the table, and other practical matters included in the 
idea of every -day life among their own people. 
Especially would this be a calamity if such natives 
educated abroad should return to their own country 
with habits of life which involved their need of sal- 
aries that the native churches could seldom give. 
Thereby a sad hinderance would be created to the 
self-support of these churches. They would, more- 
over, be likely to receive injury from the excess- 
ive attentions paid to them at first, or not less from 
want of judicious and kindly sympathy. It is, how- 
ever, simply impracticable to adopt a measure of this 
kind on a large scale, both for its heavy expense and 
its severance of family ties ; and were it practicable, 
we should still question whether the education of 
these young men should be conducted at all in the 
English or any other foreign language. No more 
useful native missionaries are to be found than Karen 
and Chinese brethren, who are acquainted only with 
their mother tongue. They should be able, at least 
many of them, to use freely the original languages of 
the Holy Scriptures ; but while a knowledge of English, 



268 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

French, or German, may in some cases be desirable, 
it is difficult to be acquired, and when gained it is 
attended with many temptations to abandon the min- 
istry for secular employment, as more remunerating. 
The peculiar circumstances of each country and 
people, however, should be well considered in their 
bearing on this topic ; there may be instances in 
which this knowledge of a foreign language would be 
very useful. 

The instruction of native ministers calls for no 
remark in this place, excepting that it should be 
scriptural, practical, and so far complete as to fit 
them for usefulness among their own people. The 
outline of our theological course of study will no 
doubt be kept in view by the instructors of our 
native missionaries, to be filled up as far as circum- 
stances permit, which in many cases would be only 
in a very moderate degree. Suitable text-books 
in the vernacular should be prepared early for the 
use of these native candidates. So far as the place 
and the instructors are concerned, each of two meth- 
ods has certain advantages. The native candidate 
for the ministry may receive instruction from his 
spiritual father at the station where he lives, and 
thus his theological training will bear some propor- 
tion to the qualifications of his teacher, the time at 
his command, and other circumstances ; there is dan- 
ger lest it be irregular and fragmentary, but it may 
possess a good degree of adaptation to practical use- 
fulness. This method might be made in some cases 
thoroughly effective, and in no case should it be left 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 269 

out of use whatever other plan may be adopted. It 
is, as we suppose, virtually the method pursued by 
the Great Teacher in the training of the Apostles. 
In small missions, and perhaps in the early stages of 
every mission, it is the only method that can be 
adopted. On the other general plan, all the candi- 
dates in a certain district are brought together and 
form a theological class, under the instruction of a 
missionary appointed for the purpose. A theological 
training somewhat systematic and complete, useful 
acquaintance with one's fellow-laborers, valuable in- 
centives to a life of piety and of devoted labors for 
Christ, broader views of their work and their relations 
to the Church serve to recommend this method of 
teaching our native ministers. Modifications of these 
plans need not here be considered. To reproduce 
our American system of theological seminaries as a 
part of missionary work among the heathen can not 
be wise. It is too scholastic. Its tendency is to 
separate instructor and scholar. It lacks practical 
intercourse with the people. Its drift is to make the 
ministry a caste. It is not well suited to the early 
circumstances of the native church. The well- 
ordered system of Presbytery as a form of church 
government is comprehensive and flexible enough to 
provide for a satisfactory treatment of this vital sub- 
ject ; and every church court on missionary ground 
should give particular consideration to its claims. 
Whatever views are held, let some plan be intel- 
ligently adopted and firmly carried into effect, in 
complete distinction from 'the desultory, fragment- 
ary, pointless efforts which yield so little fruit. 



270 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Closely connected with the training of missionaries 
is their distribution, as in an army the proper disposal 
of troops in the field follows their drilling in the 
camp, and is equally essential to victory. The dis- 
tribution of our foreign missionary force has respect 
to the countries to be evangelized and the stations 
to be occupied. The countries are marked out clearly 
for the American Church. While the field is the 
world, it is not to all parts of this vast field that the 
Christians of all countries should equally send forth 
evangelists, but to such only as the hand of Provi- 
dence may direct in the case of each denomination. 
No one will question the duty of our American 
churches to send the Gospel to the Indian tribes, to 
the Chinese emigrants in our Pacific States, to the 
Jews who are our fellow-citizens, as well as to all 
classes of unevangelized people in our country. 
Going into the regions beyond our boundaries, the 
success of our missions in some of these countries, as 
well as the spiritual wants of their inhabitants yet 
unsupplied, and the open doors still unentered, con- 
stitute a strong argument for the continued employ- 
ment of American missionaries in these lands ; other- 
wise, in some countries, there would be no Protestant 
ministers of the Gospel. Even from India, which 
has special claims on the British churches, and where 
there are several hundred European and American 
ordained missionaries, and nearly as many native or- 
dained ministers, we would withdraw no American 
laborer. The past history of our evangelistic work 
among the Hindus, and its present prospects, justify 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 271 

our Missionary Boards in maintaining the existing 
staff of missionaries ; and well may we ask, what are 
these among a heathen and Mohammedan population 
of more than two hundred millions ? If the number 
of our missionaries in Hindustan may not be largely 
increased, let our plans be shaped in the best way for 
the training and employment of native missionaries. 
Into their hands, and into the charge of our English, 
Scotch, and Irish brethren, the work of evangeliza- 
tion in India may still be mainly entrusted. 

In four of the other main fields of foreign missions, 
the churches of our country have been summoned 
to enter by the wonderful events of comparatively 
recent years, indeed of days hardly yet ending — 
South America, Africa, China, and Japan. The first, 
Mexico included, as a part of our own continent, 
as opening gradually to our missionary agencies, 
as related to us by political and commercial ties 
of growing intimacy, and as burdened by the same 
religious bondage which many seek to impose on our 
countrymen, has certainly claims on our missionary 
zeal of peculiar and increasing force. Between West- 
ern Africa on the one side and China and Japan on 
the other, our country in its geographical position 
stands as the only Christian nation, and obviously 
sustains relations of peculiar interest to each. The 
remarkable orderings of Providence, which have con- 
nected Africa and her children with our country, 
and thus led to such wonderful and even terrible 
events in our history, have yet a rainbow aspect 
when viewed with reference to our giving the Gospel 



272 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

to the African people. No other race has stronger 
claims on our missionary zeal. Turning to the East, 
the great hive of our race in Asia has suddenly 
come near to us, and has already swarmed into two 
or three of our States. Who that has understand- 
ing of the times, and that looks towards the four 
hundred millions of the Chinese, can doubt that our 
churches are called to engage largely in the work of 
evangelizing this ancient, sensible, practical people. 
The European and American missionaries which the 
latest reports enumerate in China, aided by some native 
ministers, make but a small force, and one that is al- 
together inadequate to the work to be done. Let it 
be considered that the call for more men in this mis- 
sionary field comes with a loud voice to our Ameri- 
can churches. No others are more favorably situated 
for responding to it ; indeed, no others have equal 
access to this field of missions ; no others have per- 
formed greater services preparatory to active labors, 
and no others have already enjoyed more signal 
proofs of the Divine blessing upon the work of their 
hands. Manifold should our missionaries be increased 
in the land of Sinim. 

Passing to the stations to be occupied, we meet 
with three leading theories. One would make every 
foreign missionary an itinerant preacher, having some 
convenient place as his point of departure, or else 
literally living in tents all the year ; and this idea is 
held with greater or less reference to native assistants. 
Most would employ these native helpers, and depend 
very much on their assistance, but we have known 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 273 

some who seemed to feel contented when they had 
preached a sermon to the ignorant dwellers in a 
heathen village, and were then ready to shake off the 
dust of their feet as a testimony against them, under- 
standing in this erroneous way one of the verses in 
the twenty-fourth chapter of Matthew. The use- 
fulness of well-planned and well-sustained itinerant 
labors in some heathen countries can not for a mo- 
ment be called in question, but that they should be 
prosecuted in the case of most missionaries in connec- 
tion with other arid stationed work, will appear as we 
proceed. A second and more common plan is that of 
occupying as many stations as possible with foreign 
laborers, placing one or preferably two at each. These 
men engage in preaching services held by the wayside, 
and also in churches or chapels at stated times ; they 
take the charge of schools in many cases ; they go 
out on missionary tours sometimes ; they seek the 
assistance of native teachers and preachers ; they are 
occupied with work for the press ; obviously much 
good may be done in this way. Two or three draw- 
backs, however, are likely to attend it — the work 
grows on their hands beyond their ability to do it 
justice ; their health gives way, and it is difficult to 
obtain relief or assistance, the missionaries at other 
stations being equally overworked ; and it may be 
questioned whether on this plan the great element of 
native evangelizing agency will be developed in the 
fullest degree, inasmuch as the foreign laborer often 
can not leave his station to watch over and encourage 
his native brethren at such outposts as they should 
12* 



274 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

occupy. A third plan contemplates the performance 
of the same kinds of work as the second, but differs 
from the latter in placing a goodly number of mission- 
aries at a few well-selected central cities or towns. 
In these the several departments of missionary work 
can be conducted with vigor, on some easily arranged 
system of division of labor. In the event of illness 
or bereavement among the missionaries, relief could 
be given or provision made for continuing the work, 
by the temporary re-arrangement of duties. What- 
ever labors were undertaken would be such as the mis- 
sionaries approved in joint conference, under the 
sanction of the Home Committee, not, however, to 
the restriction of any one's liberty or energy of action 
in his own department, but yet guarding against 
the unwise attempting to do everything, which in 
some cases of isolated action ends only in disappoint- 
ment. On the other hand, all the labors of the 
brethren, wisely proportioned, carried forward with 
mutual sympathy and co-operation, would exemplify 
the power of united action, on which so much of effi- 
ciency and success depends. But the main advantage 
of this plan is that it gives enlarged scope for the 
employment of native laborers in active missionary 
service. These may be placed at neighboring towns 
and villages and often visited ; without such frequent 
intercourse being maintained between them and their 
missionary friends, they are likely to fall off in their 
zeal, to give way to temptation, and to disappoint 
many cherished hopes of their usefulness. For the 
employment of an extensive and thorough system of 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. % 275 

native missionary agency, we apprehend that the 
action of the missionary Presbytery must contemplate 
supervision from central stations ; this supervision 
indeed is its proper work, and in all cases it should 
be so ordered as to prove a source of strength and 
encouragement to the native brethren. The min- 
isters among them, being themselves members of the 
Presbytery, would incur no risk of being unfairly 
dealt with, and could contribute much to the influence 
of their foreign co-presbyters. 

Our missionary plans should all bear reference to 
the best employment of native agency ; this indeed 
should be one of the main ends of their policy. To 
save lost souls is the great object of Christian mis- 
sions, so far as man is concerned, and they are to be 
saved chiefly by the preaching of ministers of the 
Gospel who are natives in each country. The temp- 
tation of most foreign missionaries, or at any rate 
their tendency is that of doing too much of the work 
of evangelization themselves, and connected with 
this, their being slow to transfer responsible work to 
the hands of native assistants. In some missions 
of considerable maturity there are but few native 
ministers, and still fewer native pastors, while there is 
a large body of native assistants of other grades. It 
is likely that most of these assistants are not well 
qualified to become evangelists or pastors, but our 
plans should be so arranged as to impart the qualifi- 
cations needed, in so far as these can be taught by 
men, and when Divine grace has been granted to 
these " helpers," to launch them forth on the great 



276 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

sea of native life. Let them be taught like our 
children to walk alone, not always leaning on the arm 
of their missionary friends, yet always under their 
kind and watchful eye. Let them be stationed in 
neighboring towns and cities, two or three in company. 
Let the growth and expansion of the mission take 
this form, that of spreading in all directions by the 
out-stationing of native laborers, rather than by occu- 
pying feebly numerous stations by foreign mission- 
aries. Accordingly we should advise the grouping or 
stationing of missionaries, in fields which admit of 
this kind of centralized labor, at a few commanding 
centres of influence, all under sanction of Presbyteries. 
In China, one well-manned central station in a 
province would, in ordinary cases, be sufficient for the 
work of each Missionary Board. In the case of mis- 
sions already established on the second general plan, 
no immediate or radical change of policy would be 
expedient ; nothing must be risked that we have 
gained by long years of noble and patient labor ; yet 
the desired change could still be safely though grad- 
ually made, — by selecting certain stations as the 
main stations, to be strongly manned by both foreign 
and native laborers, and then by having the other 
stations, as their foreign laborers are removed by 
sickness or other causes, occupied by the best native 
laborers available, to be under the supervision of the 
missionaries at the nearest main station. These are 
somewhat matters of detail — we refer to them here 
only as connected with general views of the subject ; 
and if this change were made, it should rest on 



TRAINING AND DISTRIBUTION. 277 

general reasons, not on personal, local, or economical 
considerations, and certainly not on the want of mis- 
sionaries, rendering a measure of this kind a matter 
of necessity. This want is deeply to be deplored, 
and it might become so serious as to be a good reason 
for reconstructing our missionary plans ; but the sub- 
ject as we here view it, is one having general and 
broad bearings. In some countries, and among tribes 
of small population, this line of action might be in- 
expedient, perhaps impracticable ; but in the midst 
of people whose number is reckoned by scores and 
hundreds of millions, it would result in our having 
large, well-supported stations of foreign missionaries, 
surrounded by an ever-increasing number of stations 
occupied by native laborers, into whose hands the 
work of evangelizing their own people would be 
transferred, more and more. 

Our plans may be good, — they ought to be the 
best, — broad, well-balanced, far-reaching, in some de- 
gree worthy of the glorious end of the Church as. a 
missionary body. We think, on the general views 
here presented, the work of Christian missions would 
have a steady growth, sending its roots deep into the 
ground, spreading widely its branches, and yielding 
fruit unto eternal life. Yet we must not put our 
trust in our good methods, nor in our excellent 
brethren, nor in the Church itself, but only in the 
presence and grace of him, who has said, " Lo, I am 
with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 



278 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

LXIL 
MISSIONARY PROFESSORSHIPS. 

Some of the friends of missions have favored the 
appointment of a missionary professorship or lecture- 
ship, in order to secure greater interest in the cause 
of missions. A professorship would give its incum- 
bent a status not to be enjoyed by a lectureship — a 
place in the faculty, a permanent chair, and the in- 
fluence growing out of continued acquaintance. A 
lectureship, especially if it contemplated itinerant 
service, visiting all the seminaries, delivering some 
lectures at each, would result practically in a limited 
range of study and of topics. A professorship would 
seem to be preferable to a lectureship. 

Either would have to contend with certain diffi- 
culties : 

1. The limited time available. Even now it is 
difficult to secure time in the theological seminaries 
for the lectures of all the professors. 

2. A few lectures, all that could be given, would 
not meet the requirements of the subject. The 
cause of foreign missions is one of many relations 
and wide range. It has a home side, with its various 
theories and its many practical duties. Its foreign 
department embraces matters of varying interest in 
every different country, and such as extend from the 
corner-stone to the top-stone, — preaching, education, 
training native ministers, translations, and all the 
work of the press, organization of churches and self- 



MISSIONAR V PROFESSORSHIPS. 279 

support of their ministers. These are subject to 
modification by peculiarities of race, language, relig- 
ion, etc. No lecturer for all the seminaries, no single 
professor even for each seminary, could easily do justice 
to such a vast and varied work. A lecture on Buddh- 
ism, another on Brahmanism, and another on Mo- 
hammedanism — all very well in their place — would 
not begin to fulfil the demands of the case. 

3. If some measure of special interest were awak- 
ened by a professor or a lecturer, it would not only 
be of- narrow range, as just shown, but it would be 
at the risk of great loss to the cause of missions. 
The regular professors would be likely to pass by 
missionary topics, and leave them to the missionary 
lecturer. The practical result would be narrow and 
inadequate ; the many-sided views of other minds 
would be seldom given. As the case now stands, 
each professor is expected to present the evangelistic 
features of his chair — thus securing a wide and com- 
prehensive treatment of the subject. 

4. Experience seems to show that special lectures 
on missions may easily result in failure. On the other 
hand, see the influence exerted for this cause by Dr. 
A. Alexander and others, in their usual course of in- 
struction and example. 

These are but hints ; the subject is referred to else- 
where in these papers ; it is one which deserves 
thorough consideration. 



280 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

LXIIT. 
THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 

One of the most difficult questions to be solved in 
the work of Christian missions to the heathen, is, 
What should be done for the children of the mission- 
aries ? 

This question can arise only in the missions of 
Protestant churches. The Roman Catholic " mis- 
sioners," like the clergy of that Church in Christian 
countries, are " forbidden to marry " ; and a sad 
commentary on this unnatural and unchristian pro- 
hibition might be read at many a station in heathen 
lands. The Protestant Church is in no danger of 
imitating the example of Rome in this matter. 
Some advantages may, indeed, be conceded to the 
plan of employing only unmarried persons in the 
missionary work ; and eminent Protestants have advo- 
cated this plan, particularly the celebrated mission- 
ary, Schwartz, whose views are given by his accom- 
plished biographer, without material dissent.* The 
expense of unmarried missionaries is less ; their free- 
dom and range of movement is greater ; their sacri- 
fice of family affection, viewed with reference to the 
subject of this paper, has, of course, no place. On 
the other hand, the moral influence of the missionary, 
in most instances, is greatly reduced ; the invaluable 
aid of Christian women, in their ordinary sphere, is 



* See Memoirs, vol. ii., pp. 341-345. 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 281 

not given ; the example of a Christian family — with 
woman honored and children under holy nurture — is 
all unseen. The great law of our race is everywhere 
in force : " it is not good for man to be alone " is 
true since the fall as before, and true with deeper 
meaning at a missionary station than in a Christian 
parish. Yet would we lay down no Procrustean rule 
here, and if a man would probably remain unmarried 
as a minister at home, we should be glad to see him 
go unmarried as a missionary — provided he were a 
man of firm and holy will. Many wise observers 
think that ministers in this country commonly marry 
too soon after leaving the seminary ; it may be 
doubted, at any rate, whether it would not be well 
for some of our missionaries to go single to their 
work, expecting after having learnt the language and 
acquired some experience, to return on a short visit 
to their friends, with permission afterwards to " lead 
about a sister, a wife." In some missionary fields 
this course might well be followed. 

The question of making some provision for the 
children of missionaries is one having manifold re- 
lations, some of which are of great delicacy. In 
general, we think it wise for the State and the 
Church to legislate as little as possible for parents in 
the training and disposal of their children. We also 
think it wise for their friends to help them in these 
responsible duties, not by taking their weighty charge 
off their hands, but by kind sympathy, and by ob- 
serving with them the leadings of Divine Providence 
as interpreted by the Word of God. Our purpose, 



282 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

therefore, in this paper, is not to recommend any 
substitute for parental authority or duty, nor to ad- 
vocate the transfer to other parties — whether to the 
Church at large, the Missionary Boards, or personal 
friends — of the duty which we believe God has 
placed primarily on parents ; but rather to offer some 
remarks which may help to form a correct public 
opinion on this important subject. 

The work of missions, in some of its most impor- 
tant features, is the common work of the Church. 
Most Christians could not take any active part in this 
work but for the agency of missionaries ; on the 
other hand, missionaries commonly could not preach 
Christ among the heathen but for the pecuniary sup- 
port of the churches at home. There is here a rela- 
tion of mutual dependence in the fulfilment of a 
sacred duty. It is not different in nature from that 
which subsists between ministers and their congrega- 
tions in this country, but its circumstances in some 
respects a*re very different. In both cases, the laborer 
is worthy of his hire, and " they which wait at the 
altar are partakers with the altar." The provision to 
be made for the support of these laborers may differ 
very widely in different parts of the great field, but 
in all places it should be sufficient to free their minds 
from worldly care, and allow them to devote their 
whole time and strength to the service of the Gospel. 
Hence this provision must have respect to their 
families. Their children must be supported, and 
should receive such a degree of education as will fit 
them for the duties of future life. 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 283 

We ask not that every minister's or missionary's 
son should be sent to college and prepared for some 
learned profession, or every daughter placed at some 
expensive seminary. Some parents are unreasonable ; 
if they were not in the sacred office, their children 
would not in fact enjoy the advantages which are 
sometimes weakly claimed for them as a right. There 
are many ministers, and missionaries too, whose 
worldly position and comfort are immeasurably greater 
than they would be in any other calling ; just as 
there are others who might have been men of prop- 
erty and distinction among their fellows in worldly 
pursuits, but who yet regret not their sacrifices for 
Christ's sake. We plead for no mere favoritism to- 
wards the children of either pastors or missionaries ; 
but it seems to be not unreasonable that their parents 
should- be able to exercise a discretion as to the ex- 
tent of their education, not too much fettered by a 
narrow income. When health, talents, and disposi- 
tion concur, the means of gaining a good education 
would be withholden at a loss to the Church and 
the world. And in the case of all, the advan- 
tages of common education and Christian training 
should be within reach. All this, at the least, must 
be considered as implied in the provision to be made 
for the children of ministers — whether they are 
pastors or missionaries. This, indeed, we suppose to 
be the view commonly taken of this matter in our 
churches. The salaries of ministers are, or ought 
to be, large enough to cover this kind of expense. 
Otherwise, a pastor is at liberty to seek for a congre- 



284 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

gation able or willing to give him a better support. 
He may, however, avail himself of means auxiliary to 
his salary, — such as cultivating a small farm, teaching 
or giving lessons in a school, etc. — in order to pro- 
vide for the support and education of his family ; 
though, in most cases, this is done at the expense of 
the spiritual interests of his congregation. 

In the case of foreign missionaries, the theory of 
the Church on this point is a good one. Provision 
for their support is made, on a moderate but suffi- 
cient scale, varying according to the expense of liv- 
ing in different countries, and also according to the 
size and health of different families. They are not 
expected to engage in any occupation to increase 
their pecuniary support. To do so would be an im- 
plied breach of contract with the churches in whose 
service they have been sent forth, and would be a 
sufficient reason for recalling them from the mission 
work. It would imply on their part either such a 
worldly spirit, or such a want of prudence, as would 
unfit them for usefulness, and deprive them of the 
confidence and sympathy of their brethren and the 
churches. We are aware that some of the Independ- 
ent missionaries have been sent to particular fields 
upon only a partial salary, and with the understand- 
ing that they were to earn the rest of their support 
by their own exertions ; but neither in theory nor in 
practice can this method of proceeding be commended 
to general approval. Commonly it is not practicable 
for a foreign missionary to engage in such occupation 
as would add to his pecuniary means. Some, how- 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 285 

ever, will lay by money out of almost any salary, and 
others will hardly be able to live on the most liberal 
salary, so that there will be practical inequalities 
under any system of support ; while it may be ex- 
pected that there will be cases among foreign mis- 
sionaries, as unhappily among ministers at home, of 
men so keenly awake to the advantages of wealth, 
that their distinctive character and title may become 
merged in that of a printer, a physician, an inter- 
preter, or a charge d'affaires — sad change ! It is not 
for the children of these we write these pages. 

The support of missionaries is usually, in fact, made 
on a scale that provides for their children as well as 
for themselves, so long as the children remain at 
home. The Missionary Societies in Great Britain 
commonly, it is understood, assign a fixed amount, 
irrespective of the size of the family, and the mis- 
sionary defrays all or nearly all expenses, not strictly 
public, out of his salary. The American Boards, we 
believe, mostly adopt what may be called an equita- 
ble system — assigning a salary to each married mis- 
sionary, (smaller in amount to one unmarried), with a 
separate allowance for each child, and in addition 
providing a house, necessary medical expenses, and 
expenses for travelling on missionary tours ; making 
in the aggregate, we presume, a smaller sum than is 
received by the English and Scotch missionaries in 
the same countries, though probably yielding as much 
comfort to the missionary, and better promoting his 
usefulness in the end. This, at any rate, is our im- 
pression, which is stated with diffidence. The reason 



286 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

for referring to this point at all, is its bearing on the 
question under consideration. An ample, round 
salary may enable a missionary with a small family to 
meet all the expenses of his children's education ; 
and, if he is prudent, to make some provision for the 
evening of life. We confess to a feeling of respect 
for this plan, viewed under certain aspects. It has, 
however, its other side ; and, referring to our present 
topic, we think its tendency is adverse to that feeling 
of Christian sympathy on the part of the churches, 
without which scholastic arrangements will fail to 
meet the wants of the case. To this point we shall 
have occasion to revert in another place. The equita- 
ble plan, as we have termed it, makes no provision 
for the future, which is left by faith to Providence, 
but it admits of adaptation to. the circumstances and 
events of a missionary's life, to the size of his family, 
etc. It is a minor recommendation of it, that it 
seems best to husband the funds devoted by Chris- 
tians to the spread of the Gospel. 

The real difficulty in the case begins, not commonly 
while the children are at home with their parents, 
but when they are sent to this country for their edu- 
cation. Greater expense is then ordinarily incurred, 
and arrangements must be made for their best train- 
ing which depend for success on the co-operation of 
Christian friends. 

Here we meet, however, with views which, if gen- 
erally adopted, would supersede the necessity of any 
further consideration of the subject. Some regard 
this separation of children from their parents as a 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 287 

thing altogether unjustifiable. They object to what 
they call this transfer of parental obligations to the 
hands of strangers. They express their surprise that 
any parents could consent to send away their young 
and helpless offspring from their side, to seek a new 
home in a distant country. They regard this measure 
as unnatural and unchristian. These objections are 
not well founded. The conduct thus censured pro- 
ceeds really from a depth of affectionate feeling, 
which only a parent in similar circumstances can ap- 
preciate. Their deep concern as parents for the high- 
est welfare of their children is the cause of missionaries 
consenting to this great sacrifice. In this respect they 
do no more than is done every month by merchants, 
officers in the army, members of the civil service, 
medical men, and others, in India and China ; men 
too seldom governed by religious views, but who, 
from deep parental feeling, send their children to 
Europe for their education. The heart of a pious 
parent, more deeply than any other, feels the weight 
of some of the reasons for this separation. This 
measure, therefore, is neither unnatural nor unchris- 
tian ; indeed, the principle involved in these separa- 
tions is one which is often exemplified ; separations 
between parents and children are perhaps too common 
here at home. Children are sent to distant boarding- 
schools, or to be trained for business in places hun- 
dreds of miles away, whence they seldom or never 
return ; or they are given to friends for adoption. In 
these cases the good of the child is the ground of the 
separation. For the same reason our missionary 



288 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

brethren consent to the education of their children in 
a distant country. We can see nothing wrong or un- 
justifiable in this. 

But while the judgment may be satisfied, the heart 
will often bleed. In no other respect do we so deeply 
sympathize with our missionary brethren in their 
trials as in this separation from their children. We 
freely confess that the bare thought of it often un- 
mans us ; what then must the reality of it be ? Only 
divine help, surely, could enable some parents to con- 
sent to such a measure. " O, Saviour, I do this for 
thee ! " — the words of a missionary mother on the 
shore of Burmah, looking for the last look at her little 
ones on the ship that was to bear them to a distant 
country — " O, Saviour, I do this for thee ! " have al- 
ways been to us words of the deepest and tenderest 
meaning, the language of the true mother and the 
eminent saint. How does one's heart beat in sym- 
pathy with this Christian mother in her great sacri- 
fice ! Blessed be our Saviour's name ! His heart 
tenderly felt for his servant's grief, and his grace was 
her help in the time of need. We cite here some 
extracts from the letters of this excellent Christian 
woman : 

" Our children are but another name for self. You 
are right in supposing that I have many anxious 
thoughts about their future lot ; how many and how 

anxious, no human being can ever know From 

experience and observation, my own as well as others, 
I am convinced that our children can not be properly 
educated and fitted for the greatest usefulness in this 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 289 

country ; that I shall wrong my children, seriously 
wrong them, by suffering them to grow up, inhaling, 
day after day, and year after year, the fatal miasma 
with which the whole moral atmosphere of this coun- 
try is so fearfully impregnated. On this point my 
judgment has long been convinced. Shall we, then, 
go home with our children, and see them educated 
under the genial influence of a Christian sky ? Or 
shall we send them away, and commit their best in- 
terests, for time and for eternity, to stranger hands, 
who do not and can not feel a mother's responsibility, 
however much and conscientiously they may strive to 
perform a mother's duties ? 

" As a general rule, I believe a mother's duty to 
her children is second only to her duty to her Creator. 
How far missionary mothers may be exempt from 
this rule, it is difficult to decide. A mother who has 
spent eight, ten, or twelve of her best years among 
heathens may be expected to be well acquainted with 
their language, manners, customs, and habits of 
thought and feeling. She has proved herself their 
friend, and gained their confidence and affection. 
She is, as it were, just prepared for extensive useful- 
ness. At this period shall she go and leave them, 
with none to tell them of Him who came to ransom 
their souls from sin and its penalty ? Or, if another 
is raised up to fill her place, it must be years — years 
during which many precious immortals must go down 
to a dark, a fearful eternity, — ere she is prepared to 
labor efficiently among them. 

" I see no other way than for each individual 
J 3 



290 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

mother prayerfully to consider the subject, and let 
her own conscience decide as to her duty. As to my 
own feelings on the subject, after long, serious, and 
prayerful consideration, I have come to the conclusion 
that it is best to send our eldest two to America in 
the course of another year, should a good opportu- 
nity offer This surely forms the climax of a 

missionary's sacrifices If it were not for the 

consciousness of doing right, of being in the path of 
duty, I could not, no, I could not sustain it. ..... 

Pray for me ; pray for those dear children who are so 
soon to be orphans, at an age, too, when they most 
need the watchful care of parental affection. This 
thought is at times almost too much for my aching, 
bursting heart to endure. Had not my Saviour, yes, 
and a compassionate Saviour, added these two words, 
1 and children,' to the list of sacrifices for his sake, I 
might think it more than was required." Again : 
" Shall we withhold our Isaac ? No ; may we rather 
strive to commit ourselves and our precious offspring 
in faith to his care, who has said, ' Leave thy father- 
less children to me.' They are in one sense orphans. 
But if rendered so by what we feel to be obedience 
to our heavenly Father's will, will he not be to them 
a father and protector ? Will he not more than sup- 
ply the place of the most affectionate earthly par- 
ents ? " — Memoir of Mrs. Comstock. 

A missionary in China thus describes a similar trial : 
" Wednesday, ^th. — Remained on board the Adelaide 
she being detained for the want of a full crew 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 291 

I was busy with fixing up the little berth that was to 
be my poor boy's sleeping place. These details may 
seem foolish and over-minute to those whose expe- 
rience of a voyage has been confined to a two or 
three weeks' passage across the Atlantic in a well-fur- 
nished packet ; but to send off half round the world, 
in a transient merchant ship, all that the heart holds 
dearest, is a very different thing. Although on this 
occasion my own share in the general sorrow was the 
least of any, perhaps, yet it was with no common 
tremor of heart that I sat and watched my child sleep- 
ing the last sleep that I should watch over for many a 
month — for years, perhaps — perhaps forever. Early 
in the evening he had crept into my arms and gone 
to sleep there. It was getting late before I undressed 
him and laid him down in his berth. What prayers 
were offered and what tears were shed beside him, he, 
dear child, knew not ; but they are known to the God 
and Father of us all,J:o whose holy keeping I com- 
mitted him." 

One of the Presbyterian missionaries in the eastern 
Pacific, says of his children : " They can not be 
brought up in these islands, at least for years. You 
may rest assured that we should never think of part- 
ing with our children, if we did not consider it an 
imperative duty. Of all our trials in this dark land, 
this is the greatest." 

Indeed, so severe and full of suffering is this trial 
that we need not wonder if some missionary parents 
are not equal to its agony. They should have our 
pity rather than our censure ; and we may think of 



292 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

them as those to whom our Saviour's words are ap- 
plicable, " All men can not receive this saying 

He that is able to receive it, let him receive it." 

Conceding and feeling all this, we yet consider it to 
be expedient for missionaries, in some countries, to 
send their children to their Christian friends for edu- 
cation, and for such future settlement in life as Provi- 
dence may appoint. The reasons are: I. The great 
difficulty of bringing them up in a Christian manner 
amongst a heathen people. 2. The impracticability 
of obtaining for them such an education, in some 
heathen countries, as ought to satisfy the mind of a 
Christian parent. 3. The impossibility in ordinary 
cases of procuring for them, in a country like India, 
for instance, such employment when they reach adult 
years, as would yield them a competent support. 
Each of these reasons might be largely dwelt upon. 
Other reasons might be stated, but they are perhaps 
reducible to these three, which are only too conclusive 
against a parent's fond wish to keep his children with 
him. And if those who have little sympathy with 
the missionary cause still object and say, that a parent 
ought not, without the strongest reasons, to place his 
family in such circumstances as these, our reply is 
obvious. The missionary parent has the strongest 
reasons for his conduct. He would be in the same 
class with many others — merchants, military and 
naval officers, civilians — if he were led to a heathen 
country only by secular aims, and then were in- 
fluenced by mere parental feeling ; but his position in 
a heathen land must be accounted for in a different 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 293 

way, and measures which he is then constrained to 
adopt for his children's welfare, stand on holier ground. 
To make our justification of his conduct complete, 
we must consider the main thing in it — the Christian 
principle which underlies not only this, but the whole 
work of missions. It is the love of Christ, constrain- 
ing the Church to obey his commandment and to seek 
to promote his glory in the salvation of lost men, that 
is the main-spring of the missionary enterprise. This 
it is which leads men to become missionaries. It is 
this which enables them to encounter hardships and 
practice self-denial. This could make them willing, 
and has made hundreds ready, not to count even their 
own lives dear unto them, but to press on in the greatest 
work on the earth, even until the last hour of lif 3. 
And where the love of Christ is thus shed abroad in 
the heart by the Holy Ghost, there will undoubtedly 
be grace given, abundant to sustain the feeblest 
laborer under the heaviest trial, and glorious to re- 
ward every sacrifice. He can not fail to receive the 
fulfilment of the Saviour's promise to those who 
have left all and followed him. Mark x. 28-30. 

The tearful farewells at the mission station have 
been spoken ; the last kisses exchanged. The little 
travellers, under the charge of some kind protector — 
perhaps some brother-missionary — have made their 
long voyage ; they have landed on their father's native 
shores, where everything is new and strange to them. 
How shall they be received ? Surely with the warm- 
est cordiality and the tenderest sympathy by every 
father and every mother in the Church of Christ. 



294 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

What shall now be done for them ? This is the prac- 
tical question before us. It is not enough to feel 
true sympathy for them, as lambs of Christ's flock, 
who have been brought to us in his holy providence 
under such peculiar and touching circumstances. 
What provision should be made for their best comfort 
and future welfare ? 

Various things have been spoken of in different 
quarters. One of the most obvious is a school for 
this class of children. To this they could go at once 
upon their arrival, and there they could remain under 
kind and Christian instruction for several years. The 
minds of parents would be free from anxiety as to 
the immediate disposal of their children , on reaching 
this country ; and the difficulty would be avoided of 
seeking homes for them in the community at large. 
The Church would feel that some tangible and sub- 
stantial provision had been made for those who are 
recognized as having claims for more than mere sym- 
pathy. This plan, moreover, has been adopted in 
England, and is found by experience to work well 
there. Let each missionary board, therefore, estab- 
lish a school of this kind. All the missionaries might 
not avail themselves of such a school, but many 
would be glad to do so. The expense of it might 
be considerable, but would be insignificant in com- 
parison with its object. This, we- think, is a fair 
representation of the argument for a school ; our wish 
is to state it in its full strength. We have even tried 
to convince our own mind that this measure would 
be a good one. 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 295 

It would be no difficult matter to set a school of 
this kind on foot. The pecuniary means for it could 
no doubt be obtained. And a suitable superintendent 
might be found among some of the well-qualified 
brethren who have been compelled to return home 
by the failure of their health. It would be easy to 
place the children in this school ; but one of the seri- 
ous considerations connected with it is readily sug- 
gested at this point. It is not wise to begin a meas- 
ure without looking to its end ; the children could 
be easily placed in the school, but how would they get 
out of it ? Suppose them to be entered at ten or 
twelve years of age, and carefully watched over and 
instructed until they are sixteen or eighteen, what 
is then to be done ? They have been separated 
from those who, next to their parents, are their 
natural guardians. They have not been in the way of 
learning much about openings for employment in 
life, or of making those friendships which contribute 
so largely to one's future success. No instance is 
known in which boarding-pupils form many ties with 
the neighborhood around the school. Ties of youth- 
ful friendship are created mostly in the families where 
they are brought up, in the congregations where 
they worship, or in the community where they live ; 
but missionary children in a separate school are not 
only far from their own homes, but remote also from 
the friends of their parents, and would form a little 
community, almost a separate caste of their own. 

We make something, but not very much, of what 
is sometimes stated as an objection to a separate 



296 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

school, that the children would bring to it their 
respective contributions of unhappy influences from 
their native lands, and would thus injure each other — 
one bringing a Siamese, another a Chinese, and a 
third a Hindu habit of evil, to form a common stock. 
Those who allege this forget that the earliest years 
of every child are spent under a mother's influence ; 
and though we have read of an English missionary 
mother's distress, on discovering that her little 
daughter had been taught by her ayah to worship a 
hideous idol whenever she passed its temple *in her 
morning walk, yet we believe that, in the earlier 
years of most children, the influence of their parents 
is altogether the most controlling. This accounts 
for what we have been most delighted to see, in the 
case of several children of missionaries, that the im- 
press of their parents, especially of their mothers, 
was so beautifully marked, that their children would 
suffer by comparison with no children of our acquaint- 
ance, and were far superior in correct and delicate 
deportment to the children of many Christian families 
amongst ourselves. If, however, as to some extent 
might be conceded, faults and evil habits were im- 
planted, a school of this kind would offer certain ad- 
vantages for their removal. 

We therefore set this matter out of view, and 
admitting the excellence of the school, we yet come 
in a few years to the termination of their connection 
with it. In some cases, through gifts and grace, our 
young friends might be encouraged to look forward 
to a return to their parents to join them in their 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 297 

great work — the daughters earlier, the sons after the 
usual studies — in their case going from the school to 
a college, and thence to the theological seminary. 
Others might possess talents worthy of culture for 
professional life, though without piety, and they, 
equally with others still, who should not be advised 
" to go through college," would certainly find, we 
apprehend, great embarrassment in settling their 
plans for future years, from their isolation in this 
missionary school during so long a period. In the 
case of girls, this would be very serious. " How shall 
they leave the school ? " we once asked a warm advo- 
cate of this plan — a most liberal friend of missionary 
children. " How shall they leave it ? " said he, in 
reply; "why, just as orphan children leave the 
asylum." Practically, we have little doubt, it would 
come to this, and then the days of such a school 
would be numbered. Few missionaries would then 
send their children to it. 

This suggests an objection already adverted to — 
the caste-like aspect of such a school. Its scholars 
would be all of one general class, marked by its pe- 
culiar features, and but slightly connected with the 
general community. It is not an advantage, as we 
suppose, to the missionary cause, that its agents 
should be fenced off from their brethren in the 
ministry by such marked boundary lines as some- 
times exist, implying that most ministers should 
not be missionaries, and vice versa ; in this country, 
the term missionary, as a title for a portion of our 
ministers — those whose support is partly provided by 
*3* 



298 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

other congregations than their own, is an unfortunate 
word, which tends to separate respectable and worthy 
ministers from the standing of their brethren in the 
eye of the Church, and thereby to lessen their influ- 
ence. We do riot like any permanent lines or titles 
of separation between our ministers which can be 
avoided. If this remark may not be considered of 
much weight, as applicable to missionaries, its pro- 
priety will hardly be called in question as to their 
children. It can not be deemed desirable to have 
them held up always before the public attention as a 
separate class, which would be one result of placing 
them in a school of their own. Some measure of 
sympathy might thereby be awakened for them at 
first, but not standing in the usual bonds which unite 
our children to the churches and the community, and 
supported from the contributions of the former, we 
should greatly fear that they would eventually occupy 
a lower instead of a higher place than that occupied 
by other children. 

Nor is this apprehension allayed by the experiment 
of such schools in England ; indeed, the existence 
and the success of these schools may be owing partly 
to the existence of a feeling unknown in our churches. 
In England, we have understood, missionaries are not 
commonly regarded as standing on a level with the 
regular ministers at home. It is said to be a rare 
thing for a " university-man " to go as a missionary. 
One of the missionary societies educates a large 
number of its missionaries at a school of its own. 
Some of the .missionaries of another missionary so- 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 299 

ciety were educated at a similar though smaller semi- 
nary in one of the suburbs of London. The topic 
is not a pleasant one, nor will we dwell upon it. It is 
the happiness of the missionary cause in this country 
that its servants are men of the same family connec- 
tions, social status, collegiate and seminary training, 
and average degree of talent and learning, with their 
brethren in the ministry ; and the minister here 
would only excite a smile at his vanity or a frown at 
his presumption, who should speak of his foreign 
brethren in terms of less respect than he would apply 
to their classmates at home. Ever may this parity 
continue ! And it ever will, if the spirit of the Gos- 
pel continues to animate our churches. If our Epis- 
copal friends are right, and James was bishop of 
Jerusalem, even they would not claim for. him a 
higher estimation than for Paul. In the early age 
of the Church, missionaries were certainly not held 
in less honor than pastors. 

With this Engfish feeling in our view concerning 
missionaries themselves, we can readily see how the 
plan of a separate school for their children would be 
received with favor ; while the parents, m6st deeply con- 
cerned in the measure, would be little likely to demur 
to this inferior social aspect of it. Besides this, how- 
ever, there are more tangible points of difference be- 
tween such schools in England and this country. In 
either case a guardian is necessary for each child, who 
must receive the scholar on the close of his term, or 
in the event of his dismissal from school. The guar- 
dian would of course be some relative or personal 



300 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

friend of the missionary, who, in a little island like 
Great Britain, would be within a few hours' commu- 
nication of the school, while in this country he might 
be living in Wisconsin or Alabama. In the former, 
this guardian performs an important service in finding 
a suitable home for his protege after leaving the school, 
and in making arrangements for his settlement in life, 
being assisted in this by his intimate personal ac- 
quaintance with his ward ; in this country, we fear 
this guardianship, in most cases, would be a merely 
nominal thing. The expense of such a school, more- 
over, is a serious consideration. It would require a 
full establishment — buildings, superintendent, teach- 
ers, matron, servants, food, fuel, books, etc. — and 
would require a considerable number of scholars, in 
order that the expense of each should not exceed the 
cost of education in many of our approved schools 
and colleges. For a smaller sum, we think better 
advantages can be obtained here in a simpler way. 

One of the greatest objections to this school-plan 
is, that it is making the provision for missionary chil- 
dren too purely a matter of scholastic arrangement. 
It is possible even for missionary parents to make too 
much of this aspect of the matter, and to think that 
if they had only money enough, it would be easy to 
provide for their children ; but they should keep in 
view the peculiarities of character and the probabil- 
ities of future employment in life of their children, 
which must materially modify their wishes and plans 
in regard to them. The Christian public here, how- 
ever, having no such tender personal interest in them, 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 301 

or knowledge of them, may quite too easily learn to 
feel satisfied with what has been done, when a good 
and perhaps costly public school has been provided ; 
and the manifold other relations of the subject may 
too easily pass out of sight. 

Dismissing this project, as not expedient in this 
country, the question recurs — What shall be done ? 
This question, we believe, does not admit of a cate- 
gorical answer. Indeed, our remarks in answer to it, 
must necessarily take a somewhat " point-no-point " 
character. Arrangements for the education and set- 
tlement of children must have respect to so many 
things, general and particular, that he should not be 
considered a wise man who would undertake to speak 
positively on the subject. The case of each child 
must be viewed on all sides, in the light not only of 
scriptural principles, but of many providential events. 
Remembering all this, we yet venture to suggest sev- 
eral things in reply. 

Let us keep in mind that the missionary himself 
must take the responsibility of answering this ques- 
tion. His course may be much influenced by what 
the churches may do, or may, in his view, leave un- 
done ; but his duty as a parent is to be determined, 
in no small degree, by his actual circumstances ; and 
these will be found to differ in the case of each family. 
There are missionaries, whose immediate relatives 
would afford homes for their children, not only the 
best, but the only homes they could be allowed to 
have ; and this, in some cases, without being willing 
to receive any allowance from a missionary board for 



302 MISSION AR V PAPERS. 

their support. There are others, whose private means 
are ample to defray the expenses of their children's 
education. There are others still, whose relatives or 
personal friends would gladly take the charge of the 
children, upon receiving the amount of the addi- 
tional expense thereby incurred, without expecting, 
or being willing, indeed, to receive compensation, 
their sympathy and services being such as no money 
could either purchase or remunerate. There are yet 
others who, in the ordering of Providence, have made 
such acquaintances, or by the example of their own 
self-denying and humble piety have obtained such an 
interest in the affections of some religious people, 
that their children have, for their sakes, found homes 
of the best kind among families in nowise related to 
them. In such cases as these, the duty of a mission- 
ary parent would seem to be plain enough. He should 
thankfully avail himself of such opportunities of pro- 
viding for his children. 

There may be cases in which children could have 
their home in a Christian family, at a moderate ex- 
pense for board, and be free to attend schools as day- 
pupils, enjoying the usual instruction. But it is 
among relatives and friends, not having sufficient 
means of their own, that most missionaries will prob- 
ably find homes for their offspring. So long as our 
missionaries belong to the same classes of society 
with their brethren in the ministry at home, there 
will be few of th.em without relatives and personal 
friends qualified to be the best guardians of their 
children ; and so long as the missionary cause rests 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 303 

on the command and love of Christ, and the self-denial 
of his servants, there will commonly be found among 
these personal relations and friends those who will 
gladly share the burdens of the missionaries with 
them. Nor should we think well of any man who 
would pass by his own kindred, in seeking a home 
for his child, even though their circumstances might 
not now altogether agree with the social position to 
which he may have risen ; often the best home which 
a child away from its parents could find, would be 
in the family of some plain farmer, whose daily kind- 
ness and Christian nurture and example would be 
above all price. Indeed we could wish that the old 
Hebrew usage were in force in all our families, at 
home and abroad, that of requiring as a part of the 
training of children the learning of some useful in- 
dustrial occupation. 

There are other missionaries, however, whose chil- 
dren are not provided for in any of the ways yet 
suggested. In most cases, we suppose, it would be 
practicable to secure homes for these in respectable 
Christian families, and in good boarding-schools for 
such as call for superior educational advantages. 
Many of these schools are under the charge of relig- 
ious instructors, who feel a deep interest in the mis- 
sionary work. Indeed, we have known quite a num- 
ber of children of missionaries, who have enjoyed the 
great advantages of these schools, on terms so low as 
merely to defray actual expenses, and in some in- 
stances without any charge. This is a method of do- 
ing good that can be confidently recommended ; it 



304 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

imparts pleasure and benefit to both giver and re- 
ceiver. Those who can not themselves be mission- 
aries, may in this way greatly aid the work of mis- 
sions, while the arrangements requisite for their 
schools allow them to receive a new member into 
their household, often, with little inconvenience. For 
those children, whose delicate health, or whose want 
of talent, renders a boarding-schoool education unad- 
visable, no better home could be provided than might 
be found in many excellent families, at a moderate 
expense. 

To defray the expense, when it ought to be borne 
by the Church, some would raise a separate fund, the 
interest of which could be applied to this object. 
This fund, under the charge of the Missionary Board, 
would give it liberty to provide for cases requiring 
aid, without drawing on funds given for the general 
support of missionary work. Persons having property 
to give or to bequeathe to benevolent purposes, might 
be led to take a special interest in a fund of this kind. 
We need enter into no discussion here of the expe- 
diency of endowments for religious purposes; the 
common practice of our churches sanctions such pro- 
vision for education. We have endowments for theo- 
logical seminaries, colleges, and academies, and for 
scholarships in all these, which are mostly the fruits 
of Christian piety. No better object could ask for 
aid than the one now under consideration. We fear, 
however, that serious evils might easily connect them- 
selves with a fund of this kind ; and we specify, first, 
its liability to be too much relied upon by mission- 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 305 

aries and their friends here ; and, next, its danger of 
leading the churches to rest satisfied with having fur- 
nished the money required, and overlooking other 
things more important. 

Others propose to endow scholarships in particular 
seminaries and colleges, to be available for the chil- 
dren of missionaries. In principle, this is a measure 
of the same kind, and it might be attractive to 
benevolent: persons who feel a special interest in a 
particular institution. This, and the plan of a fund, 
receive the preference of some of those to whose 
judgment and missionary experience, the writer of 
these remarks is accustomed to defer with the greatest 
respect. Nor in what follows would he be understood 
as opposing them. 

The simplest way of doing anything is commonly 
the best way. It would seem to answer well, to place 
the necessary outlay for these children among the 
current expenses of the missions to which they be- 
long, which is the plan heretofore adopted. This 
would be to adopt for them here the rule, under which 
their expenses were defrayed before they left their 
father's house, and it would be simply giving to their 
parents such a support as the churches all recognize 
as reasonable and obligatory. 

Whether, on this plan, it is best to assign a uniform 
and definite sum, and if so what the amount should 
be, are questions to be decided by experience. Some 
of the Missionary Boards in this country have been 
paying an annual sum, until the children reach a cer- 
tain age. This sum might be inadequate to meet all 



306 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

the expenses, in cases where these must all be de- 
frayed by parents having no relations or friends able 
or willing to receive their, children, and also in cases 
where missionaries ought to place them in schools or 
at college. In the former instances, it would seem 
but proper that a larger sum should be allowed ; in 
the latter, there is room for correspondence. Few 
missionaries or pastors would claim, as a right, that 
the Church should give them such a salary as would 
enable them to send all their children to boarding- 
schools and colleges, however desirable this might be 
in some cases ; and fewer still would make the want 
of such a salary a reason for giving up the missionary 
or pastoral work. As the case stands between pastors 
and missionaries, while the former can in various ways 
save expense, and yet secure advantages for their 
children, and should not therefore complain if the 
latter receive a larger support for their families, placed 
as they are in such different and greatly more trying 
circumstances ; yet, on the other hand, we would not 
desire a wholesale allowance to our missionary friends. 
A superior boarding-school or college education for 
all the children of the family, would in some instances 
involve a large expense ; the greater part of the min 
isters in this country are quite unable to give such 
advantages to all their children, perhaps not to any 
of them. In adjusting this matter, care must be 
taken not to advocate such views as would weaken, 
instead of deepening, the sy*mpathy that ought to 
exist between the churches and the missionaries. We 
have always deprecated a method of discussing this 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 307 

subject, which would result in placing whatever is 
done on mercantile ground — so much to be paid for 
so much done or so much suffered. 

Avoiding this extreme, we yet can not but recog- 
nize the claims of missionaries for their children on 
the judgment and the sympathy of the churches. 
Suitable provision ought to be made, assuredly ; what 
shall be considered suitable, is the question. We 
would leave it to the missionary to decide as to this ; 
but with this proviso, that when his plans involved 
large or unusual expense, the stewards of the mis- 
sionary funds of the churches should be considered 
free to withhold their concurrence. The result might 
be the withdrawal of the missionary from the field of 
labor, following his convictions, whether right or 
wrong ; but this would be a less evil than a virtually 
irresponsible use of missionary moneys, which would 
soon end in disaster to the work at home and abroad. 

There are certain advantages in having a uniform 
and fixed allowance for each child. It incurs no risk 
of complaints of partiality, and leaves parents at 
liberty to make their own plans. It may be the best 
method, on the whole, though it might be expedient 
to modify a rule of this kind, so far as to admit of a 
larger amount in cases that seem to require it. There 
is need of discrimination in cases that differ. 

One good result may be gained by the discussion 
of this general subject, that of turning the attention 
of Christian families to«it. There must be hundreds, 
if not thousands, of families in our churches who each 
could give a comfortable home to a missionary child, 



308 MISSIONAR Y PA PERS. 

and act as parents in concurrence with its own parents 
— thus securing for it the best training and education, 
and making the most suitable arrangements for the 
future life of their adopted ward. We refer particu- 
larly to families without children, or who have lost 
their own children, and to families also of good means 
and larger hearts, — though not so much to those who 
possess large wealth, as to those who have gained the 
request of Agur. Their own happiness, especially in 
the declining years of life, would surely be promoted 
in this way. We couM cite a signal example of this, 
were it allowable to refer publicly to friends in private 
life, the evening of whose days is rendered more 
beautiful by the love and reverence of two Christian 
women, daughters of missionaries, wives held in honor 
by their friends, who honor themselves by their grate- 
ful duty to their foster parents. The expense which 
in this way would be saved to the missionary cause is 
the least recommendation of this plan. The benefit 
thereby conferred on its recipients is such as can in 
no other way be oh\axn&&— family homes in this coun- 
try being the great want of missionary children. In 
these they would enjoy the loving personal sympathy, 
guidance, and training which no seminary or college 
can impart. They would soon acquire, what all chil- 
dren need, the feeling of having a home. They would 
grow up with children of their own age in their 
adopted or neighboring families. They would delight 
in the pursuits and pleasures suited to their youthful 
years, indoors and out of doors, in the garden or the 
field, in many cases. They would become accustomed 



THE CHILDREN OF MISSIONARIES. 309 

to the varied occupations of life, acquire habits of 
self-support, and reach the feeling of self-reliance, 
which is worth more than inherited treasures. They 
would make personal acquaintances of invaluable 
benefit to them in coming years, under the judicious 
and kind direction of their foster parents. Some of 
these advantages might be partly enjoyed in boarding- 
schools or colleges, but by no means to the same ex- 
tent, nor at all to the same depth of home feeling 
which would mark their life in a Christian family. 

We can not close these remarks without expressing 
our firm confidence that God will take good care of 
these children. They are the children of the covenant. 
They were baptized among the heathen, early mem- 
bers of the Christian Church in lands now dark, first 
fruits of a great harvest of children which shall there 
be dedicated to God in his holy ordinance. The God 
of their parents will be their guide and portion. The 
prayers and sympathies of the churches will accom- 
pany them. Indeed, we believe, in nearly all cases 
they have been well cared for here. Some of them 
may be expected to engage in missionary work. 
Other things being equal, many of them may well be 
sent to the foreign field. Their destination should 
not be determined chiefly by family considerations, 
however, nor does it seem wise to place the members 
of the same family in the same or adjoining stations. 
They should be governed mainly by the conditions to 
which other missionaries conform in these respects, 
and not be a separate class of missionaries. With 
these things understood, the Church should welcome 



3 ro MISSION A R Y PA PERS. 

increasing numbers of the children of missionaries as 
themselves missionaries. Increasing numbers of them 
may, indeed, become missionaries, as the prayers of 
the churches abound more on their behalf ; and those 
of them who are not called to this work will be found 
amongst the true friends of missions at home. All 
this we expect to witness for our missionary brethren 
and their children, because God is a covenant-keeping 
God, and because he is the God of Missions. 



LXIV. 

PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND 
FOREIGN MISSIONS. 

The connection of Princeton Seminary with Foreign 
Missions has been assigned to me for some remarks 
[in April, 1876]. It is a subject of varied and deep 
interest, but one which can not be fully discussed in 
narrow limits ; and yet it should receive attention in 
any review of the relations of this Institution to the 
Church and the World. 

After consenting to prepare a paper on this subject, 
I turned to the last General Catalogue of the Semi- 
nary for information. Among the names of Directors, 
Trustees, and Professors, I found many who were 
specially connected with the cause of foreign missions 
as counsellors, members of missionary boards and 
committees, preachers of sermons in special services, 
or supporters of the work by their liberal donations. 
It would be a great pleasure to dwell on these revered 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 311 

names. Referring to those only who have finished their 
course, we remember Drs. Green, Alexander, Miller, 
Breckinridge, Janeway, Herron, Cuyler, Phillips, 
James Alexander, Potts, Murray, Krebs, Dickinson, 
and others, standing among the leaders of our Israel, 
who sustained close relations to this cause. To know 
these men was to hold them in high honor, and to 
feel grateful that both the Seminary and the cause 
of missions had such friends. No man stood higher 
in the Church in his generation than did Dr. Ashbel 
Green ; and no one more cordially welcomed the 
movement for Church organization in missionary 
work. It was touching to see this eminent man 
giving his latest days to preparing an outline History 
of Presbyterian Missions, describing the first steps of 
our people in this work at home and abroad. The 
eloquence and personal magnetism of John Breckin- 
ridge, seldom equalled in our ministry, were particu- 
larly enlisted for this cause. The admirable judg- 
ment, fairness, and efficiency of Dr. Phillips, for many 
years the presiding officer of our missionary executive, 
contributed largely to the success of all church work. 
The two senior Professors, Drs. Alexander and 
Miller, and the venerable man who is now senior — 
long may he remain with us ! — were a host, unsur- 
passed, unsurpassable. I shall have occasion to refer 
to them further on. Gladly wQuld I mention the names 
of others, especially of laymen who have honored our 
history, whose wise counsels and liberal gifts im- 
parted breadth and power to all our church work, 
and especially jbo the growth of this Seminary and the 



3 i2 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

progress of our missions. The firmness and yet the 
modesty of these Christian gentlemen gave a peculiar 
charm to their varied labor for our beloved Church 
and its institutions of learning and benevolence. 

Taking up now the one hundred pages of the 
General Catalogue that are filled with the names and 
notices of the students, we find a remarkable register. 
It is the record, in brief terms, of many biographies 
and histories. It gives the names of ministers, yea, of. 
martyrs in some cases, of very many indeed of whom 
the world was not worthy. Amongst these names we 
find notices of a goodly number who became foreign 
missionaries — 176 if they have been rightly counted, 
out of 3,117, the whole number of students from 18 12 
to 1875. This can not be regarded as a large number ; 
it is less than one in eighteen, or nearly as many as 
from Andover, and rather more than from other 
Presbyterian Seminaries, in proportion to the whole 
number of students, but assuredly not too many for 
the vast work open to the Church of Christ in foreign 
countries. 

Some statistics are here given for reference : 



Seminaries. 


Students For. 


Missiona'es. 


Returned. 


Died. 


Princeton, 


1812-75, 


3,H7 


176 


68 


51 


Auburn, 


1821-75, 


1,005 


37 


16 


12 


Alleghany, 


1827-75, 


x ,io3 


55 


17 


8 


Lane, 


1833-75, 


612 


29 


2 


9 


New Albany, 


1832-, 


\ I?5 
) 197 


4 


2 





Chicago, 


-1875, 


5 


2 


1 


Union, N. Y. ; 


. 1837-75, 


1,826 


89 • 


28* 


16* 


Danville, 


1853-75, 


220 


7 


2 


1 


Union, Va., 


1825-75, 


593 


19 


7 


5 


Columbia, 


1828-75, 


499 


19 


5 


5 


Andover, 


1810-75, 


2,810 


176 


7i 


69 



To 1865. 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 313 

Care has been given to the collection of these sta- 
tistics, and yet they may not in all cases be accurate ; 
but it is believed that they are nearly correct. It 
may be of some interest to give also the returns of 
this Seminary under three periods viz., 1812-33, — 853 
students, 44 of whom became missionaries, or one in 
nineteen; 1833-54, — 1,106 students, 69 missionaries, 
or one in sixteen; 1854-75, — 1,158 students, 63 mis- 
sionaries, or one in eighteen. The thoughts which 
these latter figures suggest need not occupy our at- 
tention in this paper. 

Some of the 176 students had been connected with 
other Seminaries during a part of their theological 
course, but most of them pursued the usual full course 
of study here. They were natives or residents of twenty 
of our States, of the British Isles, of the Continent 
of Europe, and of several missionary countries ; but 
more than one-half of them were of the States of 
New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Nineteen 
were of the New England States, mostly brethren of 
Congregational preferences ; thirty-nine were sent out 
as missionaries of the American Board, and one by 
the Baptist Board ; returns which may be taken as a 
proof the Catholic spirit that has always reigned in 
this Seminary. 

It is of considerable interest to notice the countries 
and peoples to whose welfare these 176 brethren de- 
voted their lives. To Africa, and all but two to 
Western Africa, notwithstanding its dangerous cli- 
mate, eighteen ; China, thirty-one ; India, fifty-one ; 
the American Indians, twenty-eight ; besides smaller 
14 



314 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

numbers to other countries — Syria, seven ; Turkey, 
five ; Persia, two ; Siam, seven ; Japan, three ; the 
Sandwich Islands, eight, etc. 

Two things in these records may be specially noted. 
One is the number who have returned to this country, 
permanently withdrawing from the foreign field — 
sixty-eight in all, or more than one-third of the whole 
number. Their return may have been caused, in some 
exceptional cases, by their having mistaken their vo- 
cation — no doubt with sincere convictions, however ; 
if instances of this kind have occurred, it was cer- 
tainly best for the interests of the cause that they 
should come home. In most cases the return of the 
brethren was caused by the failure of health, either 
of themselves, or of some member of their families ; 
if in some instances the decision to return was 
prematurely made, in others it certainly was too long 
deferred. One of them, when urged to visit this 
country for relief from severe illness, refused to do so 
until, to use his own words, he had " looked death in 
the face." Alas ! it was then too late. The return of 
so many missionaries has resulted in cases not a few, 
as a compensation for disappointed hopes abroad, in 
giving faithful laborers to the field at home. 

The other fact that arrests attention refers to the 
number who have died, fifty-one, or more than one- 
fourth of the whole number. It is remarkable, and 
perhaps not in agreement with the common opinion, 
that the number of deaths in missionary ranks is rela- 
tively somewhat less than in the general ranks of our 
ministry. And the proportion has considerably de- 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 315 

creased in later years. This is particularly true of 
those who have gone to Western Africa, and this favor- 
able result may be attributed largely to two causes — 
greater care in the appointment of missionaries suited 
to the climate, and better provision for health at their 
stations. 

The inspection of these notices in the Catalogue 
brings to view the remarkable fact that many classes 
of students have no representatives in foreign mis- 
sionary service. Column after column may be turned 
over without finding the name of a foreign missionary ; 
on the other hand, some classes have sent forth many 
of their best men. It may not be easy to account 
for this difference. The Missionary Boards may not 
have had funds to send out some from the non-repre- 
sented classes. The piety of the Church may have 
fallen below the proper standard, and the powers of 
the world to come may not have been deeply felt, so 
that an influence not favorable to self-denying, earnest 
service may have weighted the rising consecration of 
too many of the candidates for the ministry. The 
brethren themselves may not have rightly considered 
the claims of this cause. The leadings of Providence 
may have conducted them to the work in this coun- 
try. All that can be asked of brethren who are pre- 
paring for a ministry, whose great commission includes 
the world, is that they should earnestly seek divine 
direction, holding themselves willing to go anywhere 
if the Lord calls them, and not taking it for granted 
that they are to remain at home. This has been the 
doctrine taught from the beginning in this Seminary, 



316 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

and under its influence we have had so many mission- 
aries, as well at home as abroad ; and in many in- 
stances, undoubtedly, men as devoted to foreign mis- 
sions as can be found in Africa or China, have been 
led by the hand of divine sovereignty to stations in 
the vineyard that are not on the list of any Mission- 
ary Board — Home or Foreign. Perhaps it is admis- 
sible to refer here to the fact that six of the alumni 
have been called to act as Secretaries of Foreign 
Missionary Boards — in all cases without themselves 
seeking these posts, as they surely would not if be- 
forehand they could know fully the difficult work 
required at their hands. Of these six four were 
pastors ; and of three returned missionaries, two were 
also pastors. In the former class was Dr. Elisha P. 
Swift, the founder more than any other man of our 
Church movement in foreign missions, a man of un- 
affected and deep piety, whose noble gifts were 
consecrated to this cause with singular devotedness. 

We are delaying too long to take up the names of 
the missionary brethren. As we think of them, we 
shall find many recollections of personal interest. 
We remember them with tender feeling. Each of 
us can recall the names of classmates and personal 
friends who went far hence to the Gentiles. I count 
it a real happiness to have known so large a number 
of them, and especially that two of them were my 
own younger brothers. I would gladly try to bring 
them all up in review before you, but this, of course, 
is impracticable. Only a few can be mentioned, and 
they those only who have finished their course ; but 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 317 

I shall aim at selecting them so as to show the wide 
range and great power of the influences that have 
gone forth from this institution to bless the world. 
We shall see that various degrees of native talent, 
scholastic culture, experience of divine grace, provi- 
dential leading, all, have been consecrated to the 
noblest work, and have borne fruit in the ends of the 
earth. 

Who could have represented our Church in Africa 
better than James L. Mackey ? He was a man of 
solid rather than brilliant scholarship, and was sur- 
passed by few in practical force. His sterling com- 
mon sense, his knowledge of men, his straightforward 
integrity, won for him the respect and confidence of 
the ignorant but shrewd people around him, and his 
steady and patient work for their welfare left its mark 
on them. He knew how to lay the foundations and 
then how to build on them. The eighteen years of 
his missionary life were years of incessant labor, and 
his faith did not fail. More than any other was he 
the pioneer and the founder of our missions in Corisco. 
I often think of him as a representative man, not 
merely of many missionaries, but of very many of 
our brethren at home — who may be described as 
practical men, respected everywhere, called of God to 
do the best kind of work, and honored by saints and 
angels. It is remarkable, moreover, that so many of 
the brethren who labored and died for Africa were 
men of like gifts and usefulness — Laird, White, 
Sawyer, Alward, Clemens, McQueen, and others, — ■ 
all fine specimens of faithful Presbyterian ministers. 



318 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

The Chinese are largely indebted to this seminary. 
The first three missionaries who went to seek their 
salvation, Messrs. Mitchell, Hope, and Orr, were sta- 
tioned at Singapore — China proper being then inac- 
cessible. Two of these brethren after a short time 
were compelled to return to this country for their 
health, but both Dr. Hope and Professor Orr were 
men of mark and usefulness here. After China was 
open, Mr. Walter Lowrie was the first who entered 
that great field of labor from this seminary. I must 
not say much of him, but I may be allowed to refer 
to Dr. Alexander's opinion of him as one of the fore- 
most men, if not the foremost, among his fellow-stu- 
dents, as praise that ennobled its subject, and which 
I think his classmates would consider well deserved. 
His memoir still fulfils the Scripture, " He being 
dead, yet speaketh." Two years later Messrs. Culbert- 
son and Lloyd went to China, with several brethren 
still living. Mr. Lloyd was as true a man as ever 
left Princeton, and one from whose labors the greatest 
results were expected, but who was allowed to con- 
tinue in his work only four short years. After 
eighteen years Dr. Culbertson finished his work on 
earth, having abundantly sustained his high reputa- 
tion both as a graduate of West Point Military Acad- 
emy and of this seminary. He was fitted by nature 
and grace to be a leader of men, and all his gifts 
found full employment in the missionary field. Two 
years after these brethren entered China they were 
followed by John B. French, whose youth and diffi- 
dence may perhaps have prevented his being fully 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 319 

appreciated by his classmates, but he was one whom 
his preceptor regarded as a born orator, as well as a 
superior scholar. His gift of speech, one of the best 
missionary gifts, found ample scope at Canton, where 
he took high rank as a preacher, but he was spared 
for his work only twelve years. Messrs. Henry 
Rankin, John Byers, Reuben Lowrie, Samuel Gayley, 
William Morrison, were all men beloved by their 
brethren here and in China, who were faithful and 
useful ; their early removal by death was greatly de- 
plored. Certainly this seminary has no reason to be 
ashamed of its representatives in China, and every 
reason to be grateful for their Christian record. 

More of our brethren went from this seminary to 
India than to any other country abroad, but the 
limits of this paper almost preclude notices of them. 
The earliest was Mr. Woodward, in 18 16, a mission- 
ary of the American Board, who died in Ceylon in 
1834. Six of our missionaries in that country met 
with death by violence, of whonl four were Prince- 
tonians. Messrs. Freeman and McMullin perished 
in the Sepoy mutiny, together with their wives, and 
Messrs. Campbell and Johnson of the Alleghany 
Seminary, and their wives. Dr. Janvier and Mr. Loew- 
enthal were killed in a time of peace. In no other 
missionary field have there been so many deaths by 
violence, though in no other is the protection of Gov- 
ernment so well assured. We are taught not to put 
confidence in princes. No one can read over the 
names of the alumni who went to India without 
stopping to recall the German Polish Jew, Mr. Loew- 



320 MI SSI ON All Y PA PERS. 

enthal, as one of the most remarkable men ever 
connected with the seminary. A foreigner by birth, 
a stranger, a man without pecuniary means, small and 
slight in stature, nervous to a degree, after his conver- 
sion shortly before coming here faithful in his Chris- 
tian profession, he rapidly gained distinction. His 
scholarship, well begun in Europe, became almost 
eminent here, particularly in linguistic studies, and as 
a brilliant writer he had few equals. As a missionary 
he had made large progress, when he was taken to 
his rest. To this day it is uncertain whether his 
death was caused by the wicked purpose or simply 
by the mistaken vigilance of his servant. 

The names of Messrs. McEwen and Orbison, and 
of Drs. Owen and Janvier will long be remembered 
with warm regard by all who knew them — three of 
them as preachers in Hindustani, and the last two 
as authors of valuable works in the same language. 
Mr. McEwen was compelled to leave India after a 
short time by his health, but was a useful pastor in 
this country for several years. 

We must also pass over many other beloved names, 
referring only to the late Dr. Ramsey, of the Choctaw 
mission, and to Mr. Simonton, of the mission in 
Brazil, of which he was the founder. Both were men 
of marked ability ; they were superior scholars, able 
preachers, and humble and earnest in piety. It is 
pleasant to recollect that several of these missionaries 
were men who had taken the first honors at Prince- 
ton and other colleges, and that not a few of them 
were such acceptable preachers that they had the 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 321 

offer of calls to important churches. They certainly 
represent well the average talent, scholarship, and 
general standing of our ministry ; but I think we all 
love most to think of them as men of God, who were 
faithful in his service even unto death, and who have 
received the crown of life. 

As we recall the names of these missionaries, it is 
but fitting to the hour that we should remind our- 
selves of the ground on which they acted, and on 
which this school of the prophets has ever stood, in 
regard to the cause of foreign missions. It is simply 
that of loyalty to Christ as king of nations, no less 
than as head of the Church. It was in obedience to his 
commandment that they went forth, and in no theo- 
logical seminary was that commandment ever held in 
greater reverence This indeed is but what might have 
been expected, for here, as we believe, sound doctrine, 
godly living, benevolent labor for the country and the 
race have all been in honor. Sound doctrine, as 
taught by the Word and Spirit of God, lies at the 
foundation of all true missionary work. We do not 
expect to see missionaries sent out by Unitarian and 
Universalist denominations. Even among churches 
of evangelical faith, for permanent, sustained, efficient 
service we must look to those whose views of God's 
will and grace, and of man's sin and woe, are clearest 
and deepest. Hence it is with no surprise we learn 
that from the beginning the duty of going forth as 
foreign missionaries was earnestly upheld in this semi- 
nary. How often did the first two professors here 
move our hearts by their impassioned appeals for the 

i 4 * 



322 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

heathen ! Even when they declared their conviction, 
sometimes, that if all the students then in the semi- 
nary should with intelligent devotedness resolve to 
go as missionaries, it would be a blessing both to our 
Church and to our country, as well as to the world, 
we were sure that they were right. They feared no 
conflict between Home and Foreign Missions ; nor 
need we. 

Many questions concerning foreign missionary 
work, both as to its policy and measures here at 
home, and as to its practical service in different coun- 
tries, must be considered in our theological semi- 
naries. One of the greatest of these questions is 
now settled in our body, and the influence of this 
seminary had much to do with settling it on the 
right foundation. I refer to what we may call our 
Church theory of this cause. It is not a cause to 
be left to the care of voluntary societies, neither is 
it a cause to be left to merely denominational boards, 
but it is one which rests upon the Church as an or- 
ganized, divinely-constituted body. The Church has 
as its greatest glory two ends to serve : to be the 
pillar and ground of the truth, and to preach the 
Gospel to every creature — first, to conserve the truth, 
then to spread it abroad in the world. Missionary 
boards are not indeed rendered needless by this 
theory, but they become merely Committees of the 
General Assembly, subject to its kind but wakeful 
and firm supervision, and thus they enjoy the confi- 
dence, sympathy, and liberal support of our people. 
I enter here into no argument on this subject, but I 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 323 

am glad to state some things as to the practical adop- 
tion of this theory, which I can mention from per- 
sonal knowledge. 

When this church movement in foreign missions 
was begun in 1 831, it did not at first gain the support 
of a large number, even of the old school churches. 
Many, if not most, stood aloof from it, — from at- 
tachment to the American Board, from doubts as to 
the theory of the new movement, from the location 
of its headquarters at Pittsburg, then three days' 
journey in the West, as far distant as Denver is now. 
Yet in the controversies then existing, the Synod of 
Pittsburg, where all the churches were of one mind 
and at peace, was a good birth-place of an enterprise 
whose object was to fill the world with truth and 
peace. I came here in the fall of 1832, attracted by 
the fame of the senior professors. It was a great 
happiness to be under their instruction, and to win 
their confidence. It was a privilege indeed to make 
the acquaintance and to acquire the friendship of 
many brethren here, but as one under appointment 
as a missionary I could not but see that the Western 
movement was not well understood ; and most of the 
students who expected to go out as missionaries 
looked to the American Board for appointment. In 
that day most of the Eastern and Southern churches 
supported the same excellent Society. There were 
those who had been led to study the subject, how- 
ever, and who welcomed the movement of the Church 
itself in the work of foreign missions. Foremost 



324 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

former gave me a liberal donation to be forwarded 
with his name to the treasurer at Pittsburg, as a 
practical proof of his interest in the new movement, 
while Dr. Alexander took special pleasure in intro- 
ducing it to the consideration of the churches in this 
part of the country. Others among the directors and 
trustees took similar action. The influence of Prince- 
ton was thrown on the right side ; and the general 
acceptance of this movement was eventually gained — 
not by controversy, but by truth and love. So when 
a few years later one of the professors here gave to his 
first-born son his consent and blessing when he went 
forth as a missionary, we all were deeply moved by 
the influence of so noble an example. I may not say 
more, but often have I felt that in this seminary our 
missionary cause has had the best of friends ; indeed, 
I believe that this is true of all our theological semi- 
naries. And we now see our whole Church — old 
and new — standing on the same ground, as a Church, 
sending forth its sons and daughters as missionaries. 

Missionary questions must often claim considera- 
tion in our schools of theology as well as in the 
Church. One of these questions has been under 
advisement, both by the General Assembly as far 
back as 1827, and the directors of this institution, 
that of establishing a missionary professorship. Cer- 
tain views seem to favor this measure, but the expec- 
tations of its advocates as to its good results would 
probably be disappointed. Another question relates 
to the method of obtaining missionaries. The object 
is to secure only the men who are called to this work 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 325 

by the Head of the Church. Can this be done best by 
our missionary boards making out a formal " call " to 
persons supposed to be well qualified for this service, or 
is it better to wait for volunteers, or else can both 
these methods be in some degree combined ? Still an- 
other question relates to the training which our stu- 
dents need for developing the benevolent activities of 
the churches to whose usefulness they are to minister. 
Our reference to such questions as these has no other 
purpose than to suggest a remark in which, I think, 
we shall all agree, — that their right answers depend 
very much on the men who are professors in our sem- 
inaries. So it has been, so it ever will be. Let a 
true missionary spirit rule in these chairs of instruc- 
tion, and the happiest results will be secured. 

Returning for a few moments to the cherished 
names of our missionary brethren, we can not think 
of them without feeling grateful to God for what 
they were, and for what they were enabled to do in 
the service of our Lord. They went forth from these 
quiet scenes to many distant lands. They preached 
the Gospel in many tongues. They taught the chil- 
dren, translated the Scriptures, prepared Christian 
books, trained up native ministers. The lessons 
learned here were retaught in Africa, China, and the 
isles of the sea. It is all idle to tell .us that they 
labored in vain ; they have been permitted to see 
many converts. We must not measure their work, 
however, by the rule of three, nor cipher out the cost 
of each convert, or the expense of each missionary 
field. They have been laying foundations, and now 



326 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

the walls of the temple are going up. The leaven of 
the Gospel has been so widely diffused that some 
countries are on the eve of great religious changes, 
though professed converts are yet comparatively few. 
We had with us here not long ago one of our breth- 
ren, now again at his post, who could have declared 
to us the wonderful change of public opinion, the 
restraints imposed on the spirit of persecution, the 
establishment of religious liberty, the open door for 
all evangelistic labor, in a country hardly accessible 
to a Christian minister when he began to preach to a 
few foreigners in one of its seaports. This change 
was largely effected by God's blessing on his labors, 
though he is too modest to claim the credit of it, 
and now we see there churches and schools and the 
Christian press as powerful agencies in the further 
spread of the Gospel. Is it not so in Syria, Persia, 
India, Siam, and China, — not to speak of other mis- 
sionary lands ? It is truly a great work that has 
been accomplished, and a work betokening still 
greater progress in the years near at hand. 

But it is the work of men who were mighty only 
in the power of God. We go back with them to the 
peaceful years spent here in Princeton. We recall 
their early impressions as to missionary duty. We 
have talked with many of them while they were here 
as students, often in their rooms in the dear old sem- 
inary. We have seen the sore conflict at the thought 
of leaving home and kindred. We know the tears 
often shed, the earnest prayers many times offered. 
What revelations many of these old rooms could 



PRINCETON THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 327 

make of midnight hours spent at the throne of grace, 
as this question of questions, " Lord, what wilt thou 
have me to do?" was laid before the Saviour ! If in 
all this we see much of human weakness and suffer- 
ing, we sympathize with it all ; most of us know what 
it means. And yet we can see the other side there- 
of — the divine side ; for we know that grace has been 
given, and now we see the firm resolve, the going 
forth, the blessed life, the happy, joyful Christian 
course, the abundant labors, like those of Apostles ! 
Here we stand by the peaceful fountain ; there we 
see the noble river, parted in its streams and flowing 
into many lands, ever deepening as in the prophet's 
vision of the holy waters. First the waters were to 
the ankles ; then they were to the knees ; then they 
were to the loins ; and then they became a river that 
could not be passed over. The prophet was brought 
back to the brink of the river, and " behold at the 
bank of the river were very many trees, on one side 
and on the otheiv" So we stand here to-day, and as 
we look abroad our faith receives gladly the further 
words of the prophet, " It shall come to pass that 
everything that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever 
the rivers shall come, shall live ; . . . . everything 
shall live whither the river cometh." 



328 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 



LXV. 

WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY AND FOR- 
EIGN MISSIONS. 

THE service assigned to me for the Fiftieth Anni- 
versary of the Western Theological Seminary [in 
Alleghany, April 19, 1877], is " to deliver an address 
noting its zeal and influence in Foreign Missions, and 
the work of its alumni in the cause." There are two 
parts of this wide theme, you will perceive, but they 
both belong to the one subject of the place occupied 
by this Seminary in Foreign Missions. To under- 
stand this place rightly, we must go back to the be- 
ginning of the missionary and seminary movement in 
this part of the Church ; trace its progress, and con- 
sider its benign results. To do justice to so large a 
subject in a few minutes is of course impossible, 
while yet some practical views of it admit of brief 
statement. Apart from the difficulty of doing justice 
to so large a theme, I find the embarrassment of fol- 
lowing in the footsteps of the beloved brethren, whose 
admirable papers in the' Memorial Volume have pre- 
occupied the ground. They were the fresh and vig- 
orous reapers ; I can only be a gleaner. And yet a 
gleaner may hope to. gather up golden grain that 
might otherwise be lost. 

I. I would first ask your attention to the common 
origin of this Seminary and of our work of Foreign 
Missions, as organized under the direction of the 
Church. We may reverently trace its high origin to 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 329 

the forerunning grace of God, foreordaining the ex- 
istence of both from eternity ; but we may also speak 
of its origin in the means employed, the labors, self- 
denials, prayers, and faith of the men that laid the 
foundations of our Western Pennsylvania Church. It 
is to the piety of our Christian people, in what was 
then this frontier country, that we owe numberless 
blessings, and among them this Theological School 
and a large part of our foreign missionary work. 
Their religious views combined in a remarkable de- 
gree the high doctrines of divine sovereignty in grace 
with a deeply inner experience of their power. Those 
whose privilege it is to remember the preaching of 
the earlier ministers of this region will agree with me 
in saying that we hardly ever heard a sermon that 
was not doctrinal in its whole tenor, based on the ex- 
position of Scripture, and that was not at the same 
time discriminating, searching, and practical in its 
lessons of Christian experience. Of course there were 
great differences amongst them in their gifts, but I 
refer to their common faith and practice as preachers 
of the Word. This preaching was earnest. These 
first preachers were men in earnest — missionary men 
— and yet men who prized the blessings of sacred 
learning. Such ministers were McMillan, Tait, 
Hughes, Macurdy, McPherrin, and others of the 
earlier generation of Western Pennsylvania preachers. 
I need not specify also the names of Herron, Brown, 
Jennings, Fairchild, Swift, and many others, who have 
entered into rest, but who can never be forgotten. 
The venerable name of Dr. Swift will here come into 



33° MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

the thoughts of us all. He was not only the founder 
of our Church work in foreign missions, but he was 
the first instructor in theology in this Seminary. So 
of Dr. Herron, one of the noblest of men, closely 
connected with both the Seminary and the Missionary 
Committee. The character and services of these men 
have been well described in the Memorial Volume, 
and in the Minutes of the Synod of Pittsburgh from 
1802 to 1832. These works show the large place oc- 
cupied by this theological school and by our foreign 
missionary work in the thoughts and sympathies of 
our people. They show their earnest piety developed 
actively in domestic and foreign missions. The In- 
dian missionary work was then as it is still in its 
nature essentially foreign work, and I think this 
Synod may fairly claim the credit of having entered 
on this work years before the movement took place, 
which resulted in the organization of the American 
Board. Here was its Board of Trust, or Administra- 
tive Committee ; its missionary periodical ; its regular 
collections; its missionaries in the field. If these 
missions were not as encouraging as was expected, it 
may be ascribed partly to an error in their plans, that 
of trying to conduct this Indian foreign work in a 
method better adapted to domestic than to foreign 
missions, — that of the temporary employment of min- 
isters as missionaries rather than appointing them to 
a work for life. But the principle of action was right 
and wise, — alike honoring to God and benevolent to 
men, combining the united strength of numbers, and 
securing the supervision of the Church, — the only 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 331 

permanent living organization in this world. — so that 
we do not wonder when we see the missionary piety 
of our people founding schools, colleges, and this 
Theological Seminary, and then sending forth the 
well-qualified laborers to their work. Well may we 
rejoice that our Seminary and so largely our foreign 
missions were born of such parentage. 

Their common origin carries our thoughts to the 
meetings of the Synod over in the neighboring city, 
and there too we find the home of both for some 
years, in their administration. It was the humble, but 
pleasant little room in the rear of the First Presby- 
terian church, known as its session-room — a room 
slightly irregular in form, and about half the size of 
the session-room now in the same place. There the 
first Seminary recitations were heard, and there did 
the Executive Committee of the Western Foreign 
Missionary Society " meet statedly on the first Mon- 
day of each month, at 2 o'clock P.M." — agreeably to 
a minute in the handwriting of Dr. Swift. Some of 
us well remember that little room. Its windows 
looked out on graves, white under the snow of winter, 
green with the grass of summer, reminding us of our 
own mortality, yet in many cases speaking to us of 
the hope of immortality as a blessed hope to be 
cherished by us and to be published among all 
nations. 

We may not pass from our tribute to the mission- 
ary piety which founded these institutions, without 
noting the generous spirit which led to the transfer 
of the foreign work to the General Assembly, as a like 



332 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

transfer had been made a few years before to the As- 
sembly's Domestic Board of the Synod's home work. 
This change must have caused regret, and even solic- 
itude, to the friends of foreign missions here, as the 
times then were passing ; but their faith stood the 
test nobly ; indeed they were filled with gratitude at 
seeing their principles and their work accredited by 
their brethren in other parts of the country, and their 
hearts would have glowed with new thanksgiving if 
they could have seen the sight which our eyes wit- 
ness of the whole Church endorsing and adopting 
their principles and measures. We all now stand to- 
gether in our faith that the Church is a missionary 
society, whose members are all our Christian people. 
If we have not yet all reached this ideal standard, we 
are pressing towards it ; and so we may feel assured 
that the blessing of our Saviour's presence will be 
with us in times to come as in times past. And yet 
times change ; it is not easy to look out on the Chris- 
tian world of these days without feelings of anxiety 
as to many great interests. But if in our Seminary 
and our missionary concerns we should be called to 
witness any falling away from the old foundations ; if 
we should see our foreign missionary work regarded 
as not ordained church work, conducted in a broad- 
church policy, or in sensational methods, or adminis- 
tered for the benefit of men not disinterested in their 
motives, whether ministers or executive officers, then 
I trust the sons of this old Synod will rise up in the 
stead of their fathers and place this work where it 
stood here forty years ago. It is the old sacred work 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 333 

of the apostles and martyrs, and the new holy work 
of every age, until it is finished and our Lord shall 
reign from the river to the ends of the earth. Now, 
as I understand the case, this reference to the founders 
and supporters of this Seminary will set forth its 
" zeal and influence in Foreign Missions." You see 
the men. You know what their work must be. You 
see the spring of their action, and you can judge of 
its movement, and can understand how this cause 
was always held in honor here. You would feel dis- 
appointed indeed, if you saw none of the students 
going forth to labor in the foreign field. 

This brief statement enables us to understand also 
one of the good effects of the connection between 
these two great interests — the home results of the 
case. The going out as missionaries of some of the 
students has been of great benefit to the churches. 
Some there are, indeed, who ask, " To what purpose 
is this waste ? " They see a choice young man, or a 
young woman of culture and loveliness, going to live 
and labor among ignorant and debased people in 
Africa or among the Laos, and they think these lives 
are thrown away. We stop not to argue the case, 
only asking in return, Did not our Saviour come 
down to live and labor and die for sinful and guilty 
men, in his sight all repulsive and degraded ? But 
suppose these missionaries had never gone abroad, 
suppose these familiar names of Lodiana, Corisco, 
and Petchaburi had never been heard of by our 
Christian people, our convictions of benevolent duty 
v/ould have lacked an element of power and sacred 



334 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

emotion. Suppose that our brethren had not been 
put to death in the rebellion of the Sepoys, our 
Christian sympathies would have been less tender and 
Christ-like, — our sense of the Saviour's presence and 
grace would have been less impassioned and complete, 
and the fulness of his blessing would not have been 
poured out upon our churches. 

II. Passing these and other views, let us now look 
at the missionaries and their work. Here we may 
note some statistics. The whole number of mission- 
aries sent from this Seminary to foreign missions is 
fifty-eight, not counting two or three who went to 
Texas before its admission to the Union, where the 
work was then, as it is now, essentially in the line of 
Domestic Missions. But this number includes those 
who went to the Indians, as missionary work for them, 
if rightly conducted, is substantially the same as work 
in Africa or China. Of these fifty-eight brethren, 
nearly one-third have been led by various causes to 
return to this country. Twelve have been removed 
by death, to whose memory we will return further on ; 
but keeping now to the statistics, we may note that 
the rate of mortality here, as also at Princeton, is 
slightly less among the foreign missionary alumni, 
than among the graduates in general. This fact is 
but what might be expected, considering the care 
given to the selection of men adapted to the climate 
of the countries respectively in which they are to 
spend their days. It is a cause of gratitude to find 
that nearly one-half of the whole number are yet 
in the field of labor. Still further, as showing the 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 335 

relative number who have entered on foreign service, 
we may divide the half century into three periods. 
In the first, from 1827 to 1843, the whole number of 
students was 228, and of foreign missionaries 17— or 
one in thirteen nearly. From 1844 to i860, the re- 
turns were 523 and 27 — or one in nineteen nearly. 
And from 1861 to 1876, the numbers were 419 and 15 
— or only one in nearly twenty-eight. This compara- 
tive statement furnishes materials for earnest thought, 
and perhaps for somewhat discouraging inferences. 
But many things have to be considered before one 
can reach a conclusion in such matters ; and at any 
rate, I do not wish now to pursue this point. 

If we follow the brethren to their various fields of 
labor, we find that seven of them went to the Indians, 
of whom only two are now in the field ; two went to 
Africa, both of whom early entered into rest ; nine- 
teen went to India, five to Siam, twelve to China, one 
to Japan, eight to South America, one to Mexico, 
one to the Jews, and one to Greece, in his purpose, 
though called to a better country before he left our 
shores. The General Catalogue does not fill its first 
page of names without printing several of them in 
italics, denoting their having gone forth as mission- 
aries. Most of the names on this page were members 
of churches in the old Synod ; so were most of the 
devoted women who went abroad as the wives of the 
earlier alumni missionaries. The first two brethren 
sent as missionaries were not indeed students of this 
Seminary, for our Missionary Society thus early 
showed its wide relations to the whole Church, but the 



336 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

first two missionaries appointed by the Society were 
students of this school, and were appointed in Janu- 
ary, 1832, several months before any from other 
Seminaries. 

Our next step takes us to the work of the mission- 
aries. You see them laboring for Christ among the 
Indian tribes, in Western Africa, India, Siam, China, 
Japan, among the Chinese in California, in Brazil, 
the United States of Colombia, and Mexico. The 
population of these various countries may be esti- 
mated at about 700,000,000, or one-half of the 
human family, and the greater part of this vast 
multitude has become accessible to missionaries since 
this Seminary was founded. The two most densely 
inhabited countries, India and_China, and some of the 
smallest tribes, are in the missions occupied by these 
brethren — 400,000,000 of the Chinese, and 1,000 
Omaha Indians; such is the diverse ordering "of 
Providence ! We must not despise the few lost sheep 
in the wilderness, nor be discouraged at the greatness 
of the harvest in the multitudinous nations of the 
East. Nor need our missionary brethren hesitate 
to follow the guidance which takes them into 
either field. John Newton said that if two angels 
were sent down from heaven, one to rule a kingdom, 
the other to sweep the streets of its principal city, 
they would come with equal pleasure. 

If we consider the languages and dialects in use in 
these nations and tribes, we find over twenty, of 
which our brethren must learn each at least one — 
their first occupation, often dry and difficult ; but it 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 337 

opens the door to the minds of the people. Some of 
our brethren abroad stand high in native scholarship. 
One of them is, I suppose, the best Gurmukhi scholar 
living, and to him we are indebted chiefly for the 
Dictionary of the Gurmukhi language, and for the 
translation of the Scriptures in it. In other coun- 
tries many valuable contributions have been made by 
these missionaries to this department of knowledge. 
After learning the language, then follows the life- 
work of all true missionaries, that of preaching the 
unsearchable riches of Christ to souls depraved, 
perishing, even dead in trespasses and in sin. This 
work is one and ever the same, the sacred work of 
Apostles and of true ministers of the Gospel in all 
ages. Yet, if we would rightly understand it, we 
must keep in mind its varied forms. In general it is 
preaching in meetings of many or few, it is teaching 
children and youth, it is preparing and printing trans- 
lations of the Holy Scriptures and other Christian 
books, it is training native converts for the work of 
the ministry among their own people. It is not labor 
in vain. It results by the blessing of God in souls 
converted, in churches gathered, in the settlement of 
native pastors, in the translation of redeemed spirits 
to the heavenly world — often such as have been 
purified in the fires of persecution. These greatest 
results may not in all cases be achieved for many 
years, but in all cases Gospel seed is sown, Gospel 
leaven is implanted, and the time of life from the 
dead is drawing on apace. No matter how poor, how 
ignorant, how low down in the scale of humanity, 
15 



338 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

the present generation of the unevangelized is not 
worse than others who have been lifted up by the 
Gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit to eminence 
in social culture, intelligence, morality, and Christian 
excellence. Even so shall it be in many Indian tribes, 
in many dark places of Africa, in all the thronged 
cities of India and China. It is this work in which 
our brethren are engaged, and we almost envy them 
their great privilege of being so employed. 

If time permitted we might refer to some of the 
distinctive aspects of each of the fields in which 
our brethren are at work, but it is only the briefest 
reference we can make to them. Here is the Indian 
missionary work, which from the earliest settlement 
of these cis-Alleghany regions enlisted the active 
sympathies and labors of our Christian people. It 
is now a work to be performed in a critical period of 
Indian life, and it is somewhat discouraging to find 
that only two of our alumni are remaining in this ser- 
vice, both of them now aged men. When we turn to 
another part of the great field, where darkness has 
long reigned, we are impressed with the fact that 
but two of our brethren went to Africa, and after a 
short time of earnest work they both entered there 
into rest. We mourn over the early departure from 
this life of John Cloud and George Paull. They were 
devoted and noble men. We do not believe that they 
lived and died in vain. Their African graves speak to 
us, and so does the remembrance of their loving and 
earnest piety. We may fear that their fervent zeal 
outran their prudence in meeting climatic risks ; but 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 339 

the conditions of African work are now better under- 
stood, and life there may be preserved as in most 
other countries. We trust our beloved Seminary is 
yet to have representatives in this field — specially 
connected as it is with our own country, and having 
peculiar claims on our Christian sympathy. 

As we follow these thoughts, specifying only coun- 
tries in which some of our alumni met their hour of 
death, and mentioning by name only those who have 
thus gone before us, we recall the bright face of Mr. 
Staicos, who died before he embarked for Greece, his 
native country. We remember Mr. Samuel Sharpe, 
who now sleeps in Bogota, a devoted brother, whose 
promise of most useful service was early disappointed, 
■ — rather, we should say, was early fulfilled in the world 
above. We recall to memory the two brethren who had 
given their lives to China — Messrs. Orr and Green. 
All who knew them would bear willing testimony to 
their being earnest, faithful brethren, men highly es- 
teemed and worthy of being held in honor as minis- 
ters and as missionaries. Their good record shows 
that missionaries, brought back to their native coun- 
try against their choice, may often be permitted to be 
very useful in the ministry at home. 

It is when we turn to India that we find in our Cat- 
alogue the first starred name amongst our foreign mis- 
sionaries, that of my esteemed classmate and mission- 
ary colleague, William Reed. He was a sincere and 
good man, devoted to the cause, well fitted by gifts 
of nature and grace to be a useful and practical labor- 
er ; but he had not entered fully on his long-desired 



34o MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

work when the failure of his health arrested his prog- 
ress. Then followed his embarking for this country, 
under the impression that he might here live for sev- 
eral years ; but his voyage ended in his peaceful de- 
parture to a better country, and from its resting-place 
in the Bay of Bengal his glorified form shall rise when 
the sea gives up its dead. More than twenty years 
later the terrible rebellion of the Sepoys swept from 
the earth in a tempest of wicked passion hundreds of 
foreign residents in India ; many of the strong men, 
many of the best women, many dear little children 
were cut down by the pitiless insurgents. All our own 
brethren and their families were for several months in 
extreme peril, but through the mercy of God all es- 
caped a violent death, many times apparently inevita- 
ble, all excepting four families, those of Messrs. Free- 
man, Campbell, Johnson, and McMullin. Of these, 
Messrs. Campbell and Johnson were students of this 
Seminary. They were choice and devoted laborers, 
and their wives were like-minded. How was the heart 
of our whole Church moved to its depths by this great 
bereavement ! Resuming these notices, we next come 
to the name of Mr. Crane, who went to India under 
the American Board, but was compelled to return to 
this country after a few years on account of his health. 
Here he continued in the work of his Lord until he 
departed this life in 1856. Speaking of him without 
personal knowledge, I yet feel persuaded that he was 
a true and faithful missionary and minister. The next 
name that rises before us is that of Mr. Fullerton, 
who died in India in 1865. Few men ever left the 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 341 

Seminary, few men ever served the Saviour as mis- 
sionaries, who held a higher place in the affections of 
their brethren. Of fine mental powers, of genial so- 
cial disposition, of warm affections, all lighted up by 
a joyous temperament, he was an earnest and whole- 
hearted servant of Christ, and a most efficient and 
successful laborer. His letters describing his visit to 
the ruins of the Futtehgurh missionary station and 
his interviews with the native Christian brethren after 
the Sepoy Rebellion, are most graphic and touching. 
It is a wonder that they have not long since been re- 
printed, as a volume for our Sabbath-school libraries. 
As we think of Mr. Fullerton and so many others 
called away in the midst of their days and of their la- 
bors for Christ and their fellow-men, we can only say, 
" Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy 
sight ! " The last name on this list of departed 
brethren is that of Dr. Warren, of whose death at 
Gwalior, India, we heard but a few days ago. He 
counted it a privilege to go back to his missionary 
work, after having been led by Providence to spend 
several years in the home ministry of the Church. 
Those who have read his book on India, published 
by our Board of Publication, will receive a most fa- 
vorable impression of his ability, which was much 
above the ordinary grade, of his varied gifts of ser- 
vice, of his genial temperament, and especially of 
his sincere labor for Christ and his fellow-men. He 
translated Flavel's " Fountain of Life " and Hodge's 
" Way of Life " into Hindustani, and prepared 
other works; but his little memoirs of two native 



342 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

converts, "Poor Blind Sally" and " Jutni," were per- 
haps more attractive. It was touching indeed to 
read of Jutni's dying hours — a young Hindu wife 
and mother borne up above the sorrow of separa- 
tion from her friends and above the fear of dying. 
" I know Christ," she said, " and can fully and com- 
pletely trust Him in all things. He keeps my mind 
in perfect peace," and so she entered into rest. Her 
missionary friend has now met her again in the Sav- 
iour's presence. 

Here we might close these brief notices of departed 
missionaries, who went forth from this school of the 
prophets. Of those still living in various missionary 
countries, we forbear to speak, though their record is 
one that we need not be ashamed of, — rather it is in 
general one that is worthy of our admiration. But 
it may be allowed, and our best feelings prompt us 
all, I feel sure, to pay a brief tribute to the memory 
of the Christian women who went forth as mission- 
aries, and who have finished their course. We find 
the names of eleven of these elect ladies, the wives of 
missionaries from this Seminary, most of them born 
and brought up in the churches of this region. We 
have called to remembrance their history, their char- 
acter, even their looks as we have seen them going out 
to their distant fields, and some of them as they re- 
turned to end their days here at home. We would 
use no indiscriminate language of praise; they had 
their different gifts, their varied culture, their diver- 
sified range of social enjoyment ; and they would 
all have themselves confessed imperfections which 



WESTERN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY. 343 

their friends seldom saw ; but take them as they were, 
and I think they were a noble company of Christian 
women, and as missionaries they were worthy of all 
honor and love. The Church may well thank God for 
the grace given to them. This Seminary may point to 
them as invaluable co-laborers with its alumni abroad. 
Their husbands will surely praise them. To one of 
these for more than forty years the memory of his de- 
parted wife has been a benediction, and a cherished 
incentive to continued labor in the cause of missions. 
For this cause may we ever have the service of con- 
secrated, spiritually-minded Christian women, — adorn- 
ed with the gifts of education and refined culture, but 
most of all with the ornament of a meek and quiet 
spirit, which in the sight of God is of great price ! 

We have thus glanced at the beginning and the 
progress of the foreign missionary cause as connected 
with this Theological Seminary. Imperfect as this 
sketch has been, it has yet given us some impression 
of the grace of God as displayed in the ordering of 
events, in the piety of his people, and in the lives and 
labors of many of his servants. We are filled with 
gratitude for what God hath wrought for the Church 
and for the world in connection with this Theological 
Seminary. And we are led to indulge high hopes of 
future and wide-spread usefulness from these Old 
Synod of Pittsburg churches and from this school 
of ministerial training, always chiefly supported by 
their men and means. We are brought back, there- 
fore, to the old Synod, its churches, its families, its 
sons and its daughters, and in their piety we see one 



344 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

of the greatest means which God in his grace has ap- 
pointed for the conversion of the world. Here 
in this home of Presbyterianism, amongst a people 
homogeneous, earnest, trained in Christian doctrine 
and experience ; here in this goodly land of hills and 
valleys, of forests and fields, of wealth in the soil and 
treasures in the bosom of the earth, what may not 
this school of the prophets do, what may not this 
cause of missions do, if only the spirit of the fathers 
rest upon their children! We are grateful for the 
past. We are hopeful for the future. At the end of 
the next fifty years, I trust, not scores, but hundreds 
of foreign missionaries will be counted as alumni. 
We must look for a great increase of laborers abroad. 
The home field must be thoroughly cultivated, but it 
is filling up with laborers. The work in foreign fields 
is only begun. In China alone all the alumni of this 
Seminary might find plenty of work to do for Christ 
and for souls. What we most need is the outpouring 
of the Spirit from on high upon our churches and 
our Seminaries. " God be merciful unto us and bless 
us ; and cause his face to shine upon us. Selah. That 
thy way may be known upon earth, thy saving health 
among all nations. Let the people praise thee, O 
God ; let all the people praise thee." 



MISSION AR V PRESB YTERIES. 345 

LXVI. 

MISSIONARY PRESBYTERIES. 

We would gladly see all evangelical Christians so 
united in the work of foreign missions, that, as the 
fruit of their labors, there should be only one Church in 
each country. Under the teaching of the Holy Spirit, 
we may certainly look for uniform doctrinal belief, 
for general uniformity in the experience of Divine 
grace, and perhaps for a large amount of agreement 
as to the government and order of the Church, among 
all the followers of Christ our Lord. Then there 
will be external union, springing from inward and 
gracious convictions. In the meantime, the golden 
rule requires our different denominations to help each 
other, and thus more may be done for the spread of 
the Gospel than if all were united like the conflicting 
sects of the Romanists in one external organization. 
The various members of our Presbyterian family may 
especially be expected to dwell together in unity, 
even if separated in denominations, and to work to- 
gether in missionary service as brethren. They will 
seldom wish to perpetuate abroad divisions which, 
for the present, seem without remedy at home. The 
words Scotch, Dutch, and American seem misapplied 
when spoken of churches in Japan, India, or China. 

FIRST. 

In order to secure Catholic Presbyterian work in 
foreign missions, it is needful only to adhere to the 



346 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

first principles of our own system. But unhappily a 
diversity of opinion exists as to some practical 
matters. Some of our friends do not favor the or- 
ganization of Presbyteries in our foreign missions. 
Others advocate this measure, but restrict the mem- 
bership of the Presbytery to native ministers and 
elders, the foreign ministers remaining members -of 
their Presbyteries at home. Others still, and the 
greater number, approve of forming Presbyteries 
abroad very much as at home, but differ somewhat in 
minor things — connection exclusively with the home 
Synod or Assembly, greater liberty of union with 
Presbyteries in the field of other Presbyterian denom- 
inations, changes in the representation of native 
churches in the General Assembly, limits of appeal, 
etc. These minor differences of opinion, on close 
study, may be regarded as divergent rather than con- 
flicting. 

The first and most radical opinion," as to having no 
Presbyteries, is held by esteemed brethren who do not 
hesitate to organize their churches on the theory of 
our body ; and in this instance we may reverse the 
usual formula, and believe that the less includes the 
greater ! The principles of Authority and Represen- 
tation, which are involved in forming a church and 
its session, are equally applicable to the organizing of a 
Presbytery. For this venerable body, the " mission," 
so called, is an inadequate substitute — especially in 
the ordination of ministers and the superintendence 
of churches. I. According to Presbyterian ideas, the 
11 mission " is not a scriptural ordaining body. It is 



MISSION AR Y PRESS YTERIES. 347 

but a committee, chiefly for business purposes, of the 
Missionary Board at home, itself seldom clothed with 
any Church power. 2. It does not represent the 
native churches in any way ; rarely, if at all, are these 
churches responsible for its action. 3. It can not 
satisfactorily watch over the Christian walk of native 
ministers and churches, nor exercise needful discipline 
in cases of misconduct. Indeed, the " mission," so 
far as church work and order are concerned, is but an 
expedient which our Independent brethren have to 
adopt in the absence from their system of any organ- 
ized authority except that of the local church, — a 
needless expedient, and one open to serious objec- 
tions when it invades the province of the Church, 
according to the lowest conceptions among us of the 
constitution of the Church. We all believe that we 
have in Presbytery, — in the principles on which Pres- 
bytery rests, which are of Divine appointment, — a 
safe, comprehensive, and sufficiently flexible means of 
watching over and fostering the interest of both min- 
isters and churches in the best way ; and we doubt 
not that eventually Presbytery will be welcomed by all. 
The views of brethren who would restrict all 
church organization to the natives also require care- 
ful study. They advocate missionary Presbyteries, 
but hold that foreign missionaries should not be 
members of them ; these must retain their connection 
with Presbyteries at home ; but, while standing out- 
side of the native church-sessions and Presbyteries, 
they should act as their counsellors and guides. Even 
on this view, would not their influence be greater and 



348 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

happier if they were identified with their native 
brethren ? The native churches require the support 
of their foreign friends, and they will need it for 
many years ; but if it be left to mere personal or 
" mission " administration, serious difficulty will be 
encountered by both parties, in cases of discipline 
and in the work of the ministry. The foreign min- 
ister, especially, will be embarrassed with duties in- 
volving the episcopal prerogative which we consider 
inherent in Presbytery rather than in prelacy, and so 
our plain Presbyterian minister will have to become a 
quasi bishop. He will be tempted to overstrain his 
legitimate influence, and take upon himself duties 
properly belonging to the native church. He will, 
moreover, be virtually an Independent minister, as 
well as a half-way bishop, for his Presbytery at home 
can exercise little supervision over one of its mem- 
bers whose life and work are so far beyond its bounds 
and personal observation. 

Some of our brethren claim, indeed, in reply to 
such views as these, that missionaries are evangelists, 
of the order of Timothy and Titus, and are, there- 
fore, not to be identified with the native ministry and 
church. This theory is too large for consideration 
here, but it may be suggested that the framers of the 
Westminster Standards, like the Reformation min- 
isters generally, did not regard evangelists as among 
" the ordinary and perpetual officers in the Church " ; 
and some of the most eminent of later ministers con- 
sidered Timothy and Titus not as evangelists, but as 
agents of the Apostles for special services, so that, 



MISSIONARY PRESBYTERIES. 349 

when the apostolic office ceased, their office came 
to an end. By several Fathers of early time who 
refer to evangelists, their itineratory work seems to 
have been viewed as the chief feature of their min- 
istry ; but most modern missionaries are dwellers in 
stations, and are chiefly occupied with settled labors. 
Or if the title, as in the case of Philip, the only 
evangelist so designated in Scripture, refers rather to 
the work, or one of the functions, of a minister, then 
we find his followers in our regular ministers in some 
of their various duties. Some of our ministers may 
be ordained to foreign or frontier work, without pas- 
toral charge ; but we do not find, in Philip's example, 
that the ordaining of ministers and superintendence 
of churches, apart from the Presbytery, are their 
proper functions. In new countries, and especially 
in the United States, it is often deemed expedient to 
ordain, as ministers, men in whose call to the sacred 
office the voice of the Christian people is not heard ; 
and this may be a reason why so many ministers are 
afterwards found in these countries no longer engaged 
in ministerial work. All that the exigencies of modern 
evangelism require is obtained by the ordination, in 
special cases, of missionaries, not as evangelists, but 
as ministers at large. And then they must order 
their ministry by the usual law and supervision of the 
Presbytery with which they are connected, which 
should be, if practicable, a Presbytery on the ground 
where their work is to be done. We can not think that 
calling missionaries evangelists exempts them from 
the usual conditions of our ministry. Abroad, as at 



350 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

home, let Presbyteries be constituted, whose members 
shall consist " of all the ministers and one ruling elder 
from each congregation within a certain district." As 
the office of a minister includes that of a ruling elder, 
there is no theoretical difficulty in the way of organ- 
izing missionary Presbyteries at first, without either 
churches or ruling elders. Examples of this kind 
may be found frequently in the history of the Amer- 
ican Presbyterian churches, and we presume in that 
of Presbyterian churches in other countries. 

To emphasize these views, even at the risk of some 
repetition, we can see no warrant, in our principles of 
church government, for the position of foreign min- 
isters separate from their native brethren. All live 
in the same district, and are engaged in the same 
work. They are brought together, in Presbytery, in 
the best relations to each other. The foreign minister 
has the superior education and general knowledge, — 
the native, the better acquaintance with his own 
people and all their ways ; so that, in official counsels 
and acts, both parties are benefited by their being in 
the same body. Particularly is this advantage gained 
in cases of difficulty which unhappily will arise. But 
the almost special advantage of these common pres- 
byterial relations is found in their benign influence in 
bridging over the chasm which too often exists be- 
tween the foreign and the native laborers to the 
serious loss and injury of both. And hardly less im- 
portant is the bearing of these joint relations on the 
great question of self-support by the native churches ; 
this will best be promoted by the common counsels, 



MISSION AR Y PRESB YTERIES. 351 

sympathies, and prayers of brethren who are united 
in the same church organization. It is not found to 
be a serious objection to this joint agency, that, after 
a while, the native members would outnumber the 
foreign. So far as the control of funds appropriated 
by the Missionary Board is concerned, the foreign 
members would of course be entrusted with their 
expenditure, according to rules approved by the 
Board. Certain questions of representation in the 
General Assembly, and also of appeals to that court, 
would need limitation ; and then the sooner the native 
ministers outnumber the foreign, the greater our 
thankfulness to God. Signal examples could be cited 
to show that our Church system works well on heathen 
ground in these matters, as, for example, in the Pres- 
bytery of Ningpo, China. But these must be passed 
by for want of space ; as also any remarks to show 
the happy influence, in various ways, of the mission- 
ary Presbyteries on the Church at home with which 
they are connected. 

The somewhat divergent opinions in minor matters 
among the friends of presbyterial organizations must 
be barely mentioned. Differences as to matters of 
doctrine we do not class as minor, but it may be sug- 
gested that the creeds of infant churches among the 
heathen need not be as complete or extended as 
among advanced Christian nations ; the idea of the 
Church as bearing witness to the truth, does not, we 
apprehend, require the same standards to be adopted 
by all, irrespective of their Christian knowledge. As 
to differences on points of church order, they can be 



352 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

harmonized by the adoption of a good method, one 
founded on scriptural principles, and one which 
should fairly represent all sides of the case — a sub- 
ject which remains to be considered. For some of 
the matters thus far outlined, and for others relating 
to the subject, the writer of this paper may be per- 
mitted to refer to two articles in the Princeton Review, 
of April, 1864, on the Supervision of Foreign Mis- 
sions [reprinted in part in this volume], and of Jan- 
uary, 1876, on Church Questions in Foreign Missions. 

SECOND. 

The method of forming Missionary Presbyteries 
should have respect to the ministers and churches 
with their ruling elders in each country, and also to 
the mother Church, by which they must be supported 
for a time. It will differ in its provisions, according 
to the sole or the joint occupancy of the field. The 
method recommended to the General Assembly which 
met at Saratoga last year [1879], ls tne one which was 
prepared by a previously appointed special committee 
of the Assembly, and is substantially the same as that 
of a preceding committee of the same body, after 
careful consideration by each. It is here inserted 
for examination by our readers. If not deemed 
satisfactory, it may suggest a better method. It is 
as follows : 

" Your Committee, before considering the plan in 
detail, and after full discussion, unanimously adopted 
the following : 

" ' Resolved, That wherever a Presbytery is consti- 



MISSION AR Y PRESB YTERIES. 353 

tuted on missionary ground, the foreign missionaries, 
with the native ministers within its bounds, should 
be members of such Presbytery, with representation 
of the several churches by ruling elders, as provided 
by the form of government.' 

" The plan as amended and submitted for adoption 
is as follows : 

"/. In countries occupied by the Board only. 

"1. The native churches in the missions may be 
organized into Presbyteries, and eventually into 
Synods, if not already so organized, at their discre- 
tion as to the time of organization, and according to 
their convenience as to boundaries. 

" 2. Each Presbytery shall consist of all the jninis- 
ters, native and foreign, not less than five in num- 
ber, and a ruling elder from each church within its 
bounds. 

" 3. Native as well as foreign ministers and elders 
of such Presbyteries may be sent as commissioners 
to the General Assembly ; but overtures contemplat- 
ing changes in church matters in this country shall 
not be transmitted to any of these missionary Pres- 
byteries for their votes. 

"4. The Presbyteries may look to the General 
Assembly for all needed direction, counsel, and sup- 
port until they become prepared to be independent. 

" 5. Appeals from church judicatories shall for the 
present terminate with the highest judicatory in 
each country, excepting that the foreign missionary 
members, in cases affecting their personal character 
or their ministerial standing, may appeal from the 



354 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

highest local judicatory to the next highest judicatory 
in the United States to which they are constitution- 
ally amenable. 

"6. The Presbyteries and the Synods, wherever 
formed, should send to the General Assembly copies 
of their Minutes, Narrative of the State of Religion, 
and Statistical Reports. 

" 77. In countries occupied by the Board and by the 
missions of other Presbyterian denominations. 

" I. Missionary Presbyteries* and Synods which hold 
the same faith and order should be encouraged to 
enter into organic church relations with each other, 
in any country in which the missions of more than 
one Presbyterian body are conducted. 

" 2. When such relations are formed, the connec- 
tions and relations of the churches and members of 
Presbytery with the General Assembly shall be in the 
manner and to the extent set forth in the preceding 
paragraph of this Minute, with the proviso that the 
Assembly will sanction the principle of distributive 
representation, and that only such ministers and 
churches of such judicatory shall be recognized by 
the Assembly as entitled to representation therein, 
as would be so entitled if they were upon a field oc- 
cupied by the Board alone. 

" 3. Missionary Presbyteries and Synods formed on 
a union basis shall have full powers to decide finally 
on all cases that may come before them, having rela- 
tion solely to native members, office-bearers, or 
churches. 



MISSION AR Y PRESB YTERIES. 355 

" III. In regard to Church Standards. 

" It shall be referred to the missionary Synods, or 
if there are no Synods, to the Presbyteries which con- 
tain at least three foreign members, to take order 
concerning Articles of Faith, Government, Discipline, 
Directory of Public Worship, and Rules for Judica- 
tories. It shall be left to their judgment to deter- 
mine the parts that ought to be included in their 
action on these subjects, having a wise reference to 
the degree of Christian knowledge and advancement 
whereunto the native churches have attained ; but 
the condition is herein expressly made, that, in these 
Standards, nothing contrary to the Standards of the 
Presbyterian Church in the United States of America 
shall be adopted. It is further required that copies 
of the Standards thus adopted shall be transmitted 
to the General Assembly for approval." 

This plan was not adopted in all its parts by the 
General Assembly, but the paper adopted is a good 
one as far as it goes. It is contained in the Minutes 
of General Assembly of 1879, P a g e 620. It ls feared 
by some that the Assembly's Minute does not suffi- 
ciently provide for certain practical cases ; for this 
reason, further consideration of the subject is invited. 
It is not needful here to enter at any length into a 
discussion of the subject. An inspection of a plan 
is often better than a long argument on its merits, 
especially to such readers as are likely to examine 
this paper. We may state briefly that the parts of 
the report which were not favored by the Assembly 



356 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

relate to appeals, to representations in cases of several 
missions in the same field, and to the Subordinate 
Standards of Faith. As to the last, and indeed to 
all three, it may be stated, without any doubt, that 
nobody was in favor of the third section from any 
tendencies to change the doctrinal standards of the 
Church at home, and certainly not in any " Broad 
Church " sense. A shorter and simpler creed seems 
best at first for churches amongst heathen peoples of 
low intelligence, most of whose ministers and elders 
are little advanced in their knowledge of theological 
questions, and who will, moreover, have to confess 
their faith in view of conditions very different from 
those in which our admirable Confession of Faith 
was formed, — indeed, under conditions not unlike 
those of the earliest Christian Churches, whose creeds 
were models of simplicity and brevity. 

The paragraph restricting the right of appeals rests 
on the practical difficulties of the case if the usual 
course were pursued, — difficulties growing out of dif- 
ference of language, distance, etc. ; and also on the 
ground that the proviso here recommended would, 
for the present, answer all practical purposes. The 
paragraphs relating to representation in the home 
Church, it is hoped, will receive careful study. Where 
but one Presbyterian mission is in the field, the. pro- 
posed arrangements for this purpose are at once 
simple and such as are usual among American 
Churches of our order ; but where three or four mis- 
sions are in the same country, the case is more diffi- 
cult, and also more urgently in need of adjustment. 



MISSIONARY PRESBYTERIES. 357 

In Yedo, for example, missionaries of three Presby- 
terian bodies, holding the same views of doctrine and 
church order, are conducting their evangelistic work 
among people who speak the same language, live in 
the same streets, and often are connected closely by 
ties of kindred and family. It is unreasonable to 
expect that the native ministers, licentiate preachers, 
candidates for the ministry, churches and schools, 
should be divided among three foreign denomina- 
tions. We are told, indeed, that the Churches at 
home must first be united, and then their mission- 
aries and their converts will follow their example. 
As well might we insist that Germany and Ireland 
should become one country before their emigrating 
people could become American citizens ; or else that 
these citizens of foreign birth should perpetuate here 
their former divisions. 

It is understood that the reason of chief weight 
with the General Assembly, adverse to the method 
recommended in the Report of its Committee, was a 
grave doubt of the constitutional power of the As- 
sembly to make such changes ; and, certainly, in this 
country, such changes could be made only in the 
prescribed way, by overture to the Presbyteries. But 
is not the case abroad a different one ? We respect- 
fully suggest, that the Constitution of each Church, 
including its legal charter, is limited to its own coun- 
try, and has no ecclesiastical or legal force in foreign 
countries, excepting in its application to its own 
ministers and members, such as its foreign mission- 
aries. These lose no home rights by going abroad, 



358 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

any more than the consuls and ambassadors of the 
Government represented by them. In strict theory, 
" the Presbyterian Church in the United States of 
America" has no jurisdiction over Presbyterian 
Churches in Japan or China. Chapter xviii. of its 
Form of Government contains ample warrant for our 
foreign missions, so far as their origin and their sup- 
port are concerned, and also the superintendence of 
its own ministers and members engaged in these mis- 
sions. With these, in strict construction, its consti- 
tutional power terminates, as we suppose. But there 
is still a large province in which its Christian wisdom 
may be invoked for aid. Questions of moment in 
our foreign work may often well receive the consider- 
ation of our Church courts, for counsel, sympathy, 
and direction within certain limits. The greatest 
reason of all justifies such action on their part. 
These things appertain to the missionary work, which 
concerns the glory of Christ our Lord, and therefore 
concerns his Church. We should say that this is 
specially true of infant churches planted by our mis- 
sionaries. For the present, they need the fostering 
care of the mother Church. After a while, they will 
be able to walk without help, and then let them set 
up for themselves, — the sooner, the better. 

A good method has much to do with our success. 
This we may too readily forget, in our deep convic- 
tion that the knowledge of Christ, faith in him, a 
holy life, a blessed entrance into heaven, are the 
great things — yes, the greatest. We cherish them 
above everything else. And it is for their sake that 



MISSION AR Y PRESB YTERIES. 359 

we prize the best way of seeking their possession 
and of spreading abroad the knowledge of them 
among all nations. We have long been persuaded 
that in our own Church we have the best method of 
missionary labor ; at any rate, the best for us. May 
it ever be moved by the indwelling Spirit of power 
and grace ! — The Catholic Presbyterian, June, 1880. 



LXVII. 



MISSIONARY PRESBYTERIES AND THE HOME 
CHURCH. 

As to Presbyteries in missionary fields there is 
some diversity of opinion. In the missions of the 
late Old School part of the Church, it was orderly to 
form Presbyteries in all countries in which three or 
more ministers were found, and they were authorized 
to ordain native ministers, duly qualified and called, 
whose names were reported to the General Assembly, 
together with all the native churches, and regularly 
entered on the Assembly's Minutes. In some of the 
missions received by transfer from the American 
Board in 1 870, though the ordained missionaries were 
nearly all of the Presbyterian Church, its usual forms 
had not been fully adopted in some of the local 
organizations ; partly, no doubt, because brethren of 
two denominations and their churches were connected 



360 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

with the same missionary board. At present the tend- 
ency of opinion, both in the churches at home and 
the missions abroad, it is understood, favors the form- 
ing of Presbyteries in the «iissions on the same prin- 
ciples as at home. The Church acts in the spread of 
the Gospel, not as a society, nor merely from public 
sentiment, but under a divine commission. In fulfil- 
ling its great work as a Church, its sense of Christian 
duty is clear, and is closely connected with the welfare 
of the native churches. Both unite well in the work 
of evangelization. But here ' important questions 
arise, to one of which careful attention is now invited. 

Should the churches and presbyteries in the coun- 
tries occupied by our foreign missions stand in eccle- 
siastical relations with the home churches or be inde- 
pendent of them ? This is a question closely connect- 
ed with the subject of co-operation by the home 
churches in this work, especially in the case of two 
or more Presbyterian Churches laboring in the same 
field. Eventually all parties look to the native 
churches becoming independent of the home Church ; 
but while they are in a state of infancy, and until 
they are able in some good measure to support their 
own ministry, is it expedient that they should be 
placed on an independent basis? 

The reasons for independent organization are partly 
of a practical nature and partly theoretical. The 
former seem to rest on the idea that the same methods 
of representation and appellate jurisdiction must be 
adopted by the native churches and ministers as are 
usual in the Church at home, if ecclesiastical relations 



MISSIONAR V PRESB YTERIES. 361 

are to be maintained between them. Hence, it is 
alleged that difference of language and remote dis- 
tance would make organic relations inconvenient, if 
not impracticable. Conceding some weight to this 
statement of the case, it may yet be claimed that it 
assumes a rigid uniformity of procedure that is not 
verified in the history of Presbyterian Churches in 
different countries, nor justified by the providential 
circumstances of the case. Considerable diversities of 
practice already exist, and it may be presumed that 
existing usages will be modified to meet the exigencies 
of the native church. Limiting cases of appeal, or 
terminating them with the highest court in each 
country, placing representation in the home churches 
on a distributive or some . other basis, etc., are 
examples of modifications that may be deemed ex- 
pedient. 

Theoretical reasons for the independence of native 
churches in each country may result from the general 
idea of independency as a form of church govern- 
ment. On this theory provision must be made for 
fulfilling duties in the mission field to which local 
churches are inadequate, and, therefore, it is held by 
some that missionaries are to be distinguished from 
other ministers. They are not to be connected with 
the native churches, except as counsellors and advis- 
ers. On the theory of the Presbyterian Church as to 
the ministry, it must be owned that it is difficult to 
give a presbyterial status to foreign ordained mission- 
aries, if we adopt these independent views. But 
waiving this, the influence of such brethren as coun- 
16 



362 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

sellors would be greater within than without the local 
presbytery ; while their standing outside, giving 
advice, would be likely to result in their giving direc- 
tions, as if they were prelates. Indeed, there is risk 
of the foreign ministers gradually exercising powers 
that do not belong to them, and so the parity of the 
ministry becomes seriously invaded, as was sadly the 
case in the early centuries. 

Another theoretical reason for independent native 
churches grows out of regarding foreign missionaries 
as evangelists. Views are sometimes advocated of 
the office of an evangelist, which tend to place in the 
hands of missionaries certain functions of church 
government and ordination. But the office of an 
evangelist eo nomhie^ like that of " apostles and proph- 
ets," was probably special and temporary, limited 
to the early age of the Christian Church. Or, if 
stress be laid on " the work of an evangelist " as still 
abiding, it may be such work as is common to all 
Christians, described in Acts viii. 1-4 ; or else it may 
be work included in the functions of the ordinary 
ministers of the Church. Certainly no idea of an 
evangelist can be entertained now that would place 
the power of ordination solely in his hands, without 
reference to the " laying on of the hands, of the 
Presbytery." Even if foreign missionaries were evan- 
gelists it is not apparent how they could be regularly 
connected with an independent church. 

On the other hand, good reasons recommend a 
qualified organic relation between the missionary and 
the mother churches, to continue until the former 



MISSION AR V PRE SB Y TERIES. 363 

reach the ground or stage of self-support. These 
may be briefly stated as follows : 

1. The real relationship is that of parent and child. 
For a time the native church is necessarily dependent 
on the mother church ; eventually it will be strong 
enough to walk alone. In the meantime it does not 
seem to be wise to encourage native presbyterial or- 
ganization independently of the Church by which it 
is chiefly supported, and by which the mission is 
altogether supported. So far as the native churches 
are concerned they are at first not only too feeble in 
pecuniary means, but too immature in knowledge and 
Christian character, to undertake the somewhat diffi- 
cult duties of government and discipline. As well 
might such duties be assigned, in many cases, to the 
baptized children of our home churches who are 
under ten years of age. 

2. The office and the essential duties of the foreign 
and the native ministers are so much the same that 
they properly rest on the same ground, ecclesiastically, 
abroad as at home. All the ministers and a ruling 
elder from each church, within certain geographical 
boundaries, should constitute the Presbytery. In its 
broad limits ministers and elders of different gifts, 
acquirements, social position, etc., meet together as 
Christian brethren. One of our American Presby- 
teries has on its roll ministers of Scotch, Irish, French, 
German, and other European birth and training, and 
many men from different parts of our own country, 
including men of African descent, and Hebrews — 
ministers who differ very widely in many respects, 



364 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

but who are all catholic, sympathetic, and happily 
united in common service for Christ. Distinctions of 
ecclesiastical position are to be deprecated in the mis- 
sion field, while different kinds of work may yet be 
conducted satisfactorily there as at home. In the 
presbytery the usual order of church life and action 
can be well exemplified. Certain dangers are therein 
best averted, as of undue lordship on the one side 
and distance on the other ; these interpose a barrier 
or chasm between parties that ought to be closely 
united. In this way, moreover, mutual aid and 
Christian sympathy may best be shared by both 
parties as in a family. It was in this way, it may be 
held, that the apostolic churches were organized, 
governed, strengthened, and qualified* for the highest 
degree of usefulness. 

3. By the union of the native church and the 
mother church the great principles of Authority and 
Representation are best subserved. At first inde- 
pendency tends to ignore these great matters. Its 
practical working too easily may become chaotic. 
The influence of the foreign members of presbytery 
is at once conservative and progressive, and well 
suited to be of service to the native members. 

4. This union is of great influence in developing 
the work of self-support among the native churches, 
and also the work of extending a missionary spirit 
among them. Too often this is a work of slow prog- 
ress. Its attainment would be expedited by close 
relations between the parent church and the infant 
churches abroad. The correct views of the former 



MISSION AR Y PRESB YTERIES. 365 

would be influential with the latter, in a ratio with the 
nearness of their relations to each other. The mis- 
sionaries would enjoy more frequent opportunities as 
members of the same presbytery with their native 
brethren of calling their attention to these subjects, 
and their influence would be far greater than if they 
were standing at a distance and members of a pres- 
bytery in a foreign country. 

5. Such union is of great service to the foreign 
missionary. It brings him into the best relations with 
the native brethren. It secures for him their friendly 
watch and care, often a conservative influence of in- 
valuable benefit, especially as contrasted with the 
virtual irresponsibility as to ecclesiastical supervision 
which exists if his connection is only with a presby- 
tery in a distant country. It gives him the finest 
opportunities of usefulness. All of these advantages 
are enjoyed in a less degree, and under conditions 
more or less embarrassing, on the opposite theory. 

6. Such union is of indispensable benefit to the 
home Church in it's missionary work. It tends to 
bring the mission field, and especially the infant 
churches in it, near the heart of the Christian brethren 
who are united in their support. It calls forth in 
behalf of the native ministers and churches such 
sympathy and aid as spring from church fellowship. 
In a word, it fosters the spirit of missions at home. 

Briefly as most of these reasons have been stated, 
they seem to favor joint ecclesiastical relations be- 
tween the missionary and the home churches. A 
careful examination of apostolic usage and of early 



366 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

Church History would, it is believed, sustain the same 
conclusion. — Second General Council, Presbyterian Al- 
liance, 1880, pages 1 1 44- 1 146. 



LXVIII. 



"FOREIGN MISSIONS: THEIR RELATIONS 
AND CLAIMS." 

This is the title of a recent book by the Rev. R. 
Anderson, D.D., for many years the Senior Secretary 
of the American Board of Foreign Missions. It is 
published by Charles Scribner & Co., New York. We 
wish to commend it warmly to the attention of our 
readers. Its venerable author, by long and varied ex- 
perience in the administration of the missions of the 
American Board, and by wide observation -of the mis- 
sions of other Boards, is qualified in an eminent de- 
gree to write on missionary subjects, and this book 
could have been written only by one thus qualified. 
It may be regarded as embodying the author's theory 
of the best way of conducting the work of missions, 
particularly as this work is developed in the mission- 
ary field ; but the theoretical and the practical are 
combined, and it seems to us usually with great and 
good judgment. 

The book is written mainly from a Congregational 
stand-point, so far as questions of church government 
are concerned ; but the author's views are not present- 



FOREIGN MISSIONS. 367 

ed in a controversial form, and sometimes rather un- 
derlie the current of remark than appear in a positive 
shape. It is not his object to discuss such questions, 
but they can not be ignored in the practical work of 
giving the Gospel to the heathen, any more than in 
building up churches at home. We may refer to the 
chapters on the " Development of the idea of the 
Christian Church," the " Characteristics of the Apos- 
tolic Church," " The Principles and Methods of Mod- 
ern Missions," for views which either affirm or imply 
the Congregational idea of the Church. No Presby- 
terian, we suppose, who understood his own system, 
could discuss these subjects without reaching the con- 
clusion that the Church as such is a divinely appointed 
missionary society, as shown by Scripture texts and ex- 
amples. Some of these the respected author of this 
book quotes without drawing this inference from 
them, but we are persuaded this is their true mean- 
ing. Resting the work of missions, both in its war- 
rant and in its general administration, on this sacred 
ground, we have the will o£ God in this matter as one 
of the main supports and encouragements in our 
Christian duty. See this theory admirably presented 
in Dr. Edward P. Humphrey's Sermon, in the Foreign 
Missionary, October, 1857. 

We fully agree with the author as to the impor- 
tance of " local churches," and we trust his varied and 
excellent instruction concerning them will be well con- 
sidered, especially by our missionary brethren. But 
we would not make these churches " self-governing " 
in India or China, in any different sense from what is 



368 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

understood and practiced in the presbyterian churches 
of our own country; the principles which should 
control the subject are the same in all countries. 
Greatly as the author's views are to be valued con- 
cerning these native churches, we could hardly join 
him in saying, " The first duty of a missionary is to 
gather such a church." Rather, his first and last duty 
is to preach the Gospel. Then, when the Holy Spirit 
has made the word effectual unto salvation, gather 
the converts into the church. As churches are multi- 
plied, unite them in presbyteries, abroad just as at 
home. Nor should we separate the foreign ministers 
from these presbyteries. This is a point of much 
practical moment. " The ecclesiastical bodies for na- 
tive churches and pastors should be exclusively for 
them ; the missionaries sustaining only the relation of 
advisers " ; — which, we respectfully submit, is to treat 
the latter as neither Presbyterian nor Congregational 
ministers, but quasi bishops, and virtually to separate 
them from presbyterial supervision, while it works to 
the serious disadvantage both of the foreign and na- 
tive members of the mission — see this question con- 
sidered in an article on the Supervision of Foreign 
Missions, in the Princeton Review, a few years ago, 
and reprinted in these papers. 

Before passing from these questions of church gov- 
ernment in missions, we should quote the respected 
author's remark on page 159. ""I should add that 
missionary societies and missions, though technically 
speaking not ecclesiastical bodies, have become (as 
has been elsewhere affirmed) a component part of the 



FOREIGN MISSIONS. 369 

great modern structure of the Christian Church, as it 
is being organized under God's providence for the 
conversion of the world ; and they should be permit- 
ted to sustain the responsibilities and perform the 
duties that are essential to the prosecution of the 
missionary work on the broad scale of the world." 
In accordance with this is the suggestion, in the next 
chapter, that Ecclesiastical and Voluntary Boards are 
on the same footing. We need not enter on this sub- 
ject. Our old theory of the Church, as it is presented 
in our Presbyterian Standards, seems to us certainly 
well adapted to all missionary purposes, as we should 
expect from its being of divine warrant. The only 
proviso we need to make is, that it be moved and 
governed by the Spirit of Christ ; and without this, no 
theory will work well. Referring to our method of re- 
ducing it to practice, however, we could wish that the 
business coming before our General Assembly should 
be so modified that the Assembly could devote more 
time to the cause of Foreign Missions. This would ena- 
ble this body to hear and consider reports from its Stand- 
ing Committees, one on each of the great missionary 
fields, Africa, China, etc., as these are brought to the 
Assembly's attention by its Foreign Board. And we 
should be glad to see an equal amount of time given 
by the Assembly to the various Home Boards. Thus 
we should hope to gain all that is important in the 
large " Annual Meetings " and " Delegate Meetings " 
of other missionary bodies, so far as popular impres- 
sion and influence are concerned ; so far as every- 
thing else is concerned, we would exchange our Gen- 
16* 



37o MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

eral Assembly for no other leading agency in the 
work of missions. 

If our space permitted, we should like to refer to 
the subject of education as presented in this book, on 
pages 113, 114. As a part of missionary work, it is 
here restricted to the children of the native churches 
mainly, if we correctly understand it. Its province 
seems to us broader, however, and if employed as a 
converting agency, when Providence permits, we think 
missionary schools are of very great value ; yet the 
danger of their becoming schools chiefly of secular 
learning needs to be watched. The question of their 
use turns not a little on the door opened for them, 
and more on the motive and aim with which they are 
conducted. The same reason forbids our trying to 
controvert respectfully the authors opinion, that " no 
white man should join their missions/' that is, mis- 
sions in Africa. It is not a question of color or race, 
but of talents, education, and grace, that should be 
considered here. Give us the same qualifications in 
a colored man as in a white man, and give us a suffi- 
cient number of such well-qualified laborers, and all 
will go on well ; but in the meantime, why should 
not white missionaries as well as white merchants be 
found in Africa? As to the general subject which is 
often referred to in this book, the purely spiritual 
nature of the means to be employed in the work of 
missions, we have felt at times that the opinions ex- 
pressed stand in some need of modification. We 
would not say that a missionary stationed among the 
Africans, for instance, was not at liberty to give them 



WHA T PRESB YTERIES CAN DO. 371 

instruction as to a better way of clothing themselves 
or obtaining a support from the ground. Much de- 
pends in such cases on the leadings of Providence ; 
and everything on the motives and aims of the mis- 
sionary ; especially should it be always clear that he 
was pursuing a disinterested course. 

While thus referring to some things in regard to 
which we would respectfully dissent from the positions 
taken in this book, it gives us great pleasure to refer 
to the much greater number of subjects here discuss- 
ed, which every reader will regard with approval and 
often with deep emotion. The chapters on " Mission- 
ary Life Illustrated/' " Hindrances at Home," " Diffu- 
sion of Missions," " Success of Missions," etc., will be 
found to be full of interesting and valuable views and 
information ; but our narrow limits preclude further 
notice of this truly valuable work. 



LXIX. 
WHAT PRESBYTERIES CAN DO. 

" We defer, of course, to the judgment of Presby- 
teries on the ground. If they are able to furnish the 
men and the means needed for Indian work in their 
bounds, we would be glad to see them engage in it, 
and take the full control of it ; but if, for the pecuni- 
ary support of the work, resort must be had to the 
Church at large, then it is best to do so in the way 



372 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

pointed out by the General Assembly. We think 
there is no Board that would not gladly concur with 
the counsel or the action of a Presbytery, so far as 
practicable." 

We reprint this paragraph from the last number of 
the Record, to recall attention to it, and to enlarge its 
application. The action suggested need not be re- 
stricted to Presbyteries that have Indians in their 
bounds. We see not why similar action would not 
be proper in all cases — in Africa, or China, or else- 
where. It is, no doubt, true that most Presbyteries 
in our foreign fields have but very limited pecuniary 
means at command, or available from churches or in- 
dividuals under their care. But let a beginning be 
made as soon as practicable. Let the aim be to de- 
velop self-support, and also effort for the spread of 
the Gospel, at the earliest time. If the churches can 
give but little, they will be accepted by the Saviour 
for what they have, and their engaging in efforts to 
serve him will, no doubt, increase their pecuniary 
means. The policy of deferring such action is injuri- 
ous, however laudable may be its motive. A vener- 
able missionary, after more than forty years' faithful 
labor, was deploring to the writer of these lines the 
unwillingness of his converts to contribute to the sup- 
port and spread of the Gospel. He ascribed this un- 
happy result in part to the neglect of proper instruc- 
tion, and this neglect itself proceeded from an amiable 
feeling with which we all sympathize. " When we 
first came among them," said he, "we felt that we 
could not do too much for them." This feeling was 



ENDORSEMENT OF OBJECTS. 373 

worthy of praise, but its practical exercise our aged 
friend mourned over as not well adjusted to human 
nature even under the influence of divine grace. 

If Presbyteries in missionary fields can not do much 
in this way, at least let what is practicable receive 
systematic and vigorous attention. Each Presbytery, 
especially when composed of native and foreign mem- 
bers, can carefully survey and consider its immediate 
field and all parts of its work, giving patient and par- 
ticular attention to its interests. Then it can take up 
each case for such action as may be within its ability ; 
and thus a church may be encouraged to do all its 
duty in the support of its pastor. A young man of 
promise may be aided in preparing for the ministry. 
Means may be called forth for building a house of 
worship, etc., all on the basis mainly of native or lo- 
cal expenditure, rather than of foreign. All this is 
within the proper sphere of Presbyteries, and the 
united action of their members — foreign and native 
— will tend to secure the best results in the essential 
work of self-support and the not less essential work 
of spreading the Gospel. They can do these things 
without reference to any Board. 



LXX. 
ENDORSEMENT OF OBJECTS. 

The Board's endorsement of objects for the sup- 
port of the churches is a reasonable one which should 



374 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

be welcomed by the friends of missions. We quote 
two paragraphs from its rules : 

" 5. The mission [or Presbytery] should prepare at 
the end of each year a careful estimate of the prob- 
able necessary expenses of its work for the year ensu- 
ing, specifying the different objects in detail, to be 
forwarded to the Board the first week in January. 
When there is more than one station in a mission, 
each station should prepare its estimates, to be sub- 
mitted for examination and approval by the mission 
at its annual meeting ; and the general estimates of 
the mission should be based on and include these 
station estimates. It is the desire of the Board that 
the estimates should be so complete as to preclude 
special applications by the missionaries to churches, 
Sabbath-schools, or other associations, for objects not 
specified in them. No missionary should ap'ply to 
the Board for funds for mission work, without first 
conferring with the mission. When these mission 
estimates have been approved by the Board, they 
govern the expenditure of the year, and must not be 
exceeded. If special cases arise, calling for new ex- 
penditure, they should be made matters of corre- 
spondence with the Board, excepting when funds to 
meet them are provided from other sources than the 
treasury of the Board, such as donations of Christian 
friends at the station, or from sources referred to in 
the next paragraph. 

" 6. The object of missionary life must ever be held 
sacred, that of preaching Christ and him crucified ; but 
if, without turning aside from this object, missionaries 



ENDORSEMENT OF OBJECTS. 375 

should be led by providential circumstances, with the 
consent of their brethren in the mission, and the ap- 
proval of the Board, to engage in work that brings to 
them pecuniary remuneration, the moneys so received 
should be turned over to the treasury of the mission, 
to be used as local funds under its direction, and. to 
be reported to the Board ; in such cases the mission- 
aries will continue to draw their usual salaries from 
the Board." 

Here it may be noted — I. That these estimates be- 
gin with the brethren in the field. 2. That their com- 
mon or united judgment is sought as to all parts of 
their work. 3. That ample margin is given for new 
objects. 4. That the approval of the Board is need- 
ful. 5. That local gifts or income in the mission is 
left to the disposal of its members. These things 
seem to* combine free action abroad with general 
supervision at home, in a way not objectionable or 
injurious, and such as may well receive the confidence 
of our churches. Exception is indeed sometimes 
taken to the second of these provisos ; personal at- 
tachment sometimes leads donors to wish their gifts 
to be expended by a particular missionary, and on the 
other hand, missionaries sometimes, but rarely, wish to 
have funds placed at their personal disposal. In act- 
ual practice, this result is sometimes secured ; but we 
think our readers generally, as we believe the mission- 
aries also in most cases, approve the rule as it stands. 
It certainly appears to afford a good and sufficient rea- 
son of the judicious use of sacred funds. 

Exception has also been taken to the fourth point 



376 MISSIONAR Y PA PEPS. 

— the approval of the Board, as if it were adverse to 
liberty of action. We must not enter on theoretical 
discussions here, but we may suggest — I. That in 
practice this rule has seldom been complained of. 
With missions in so many different countries every- 
body sees that some directing organization is need- 
ful. If mistakes or evils of any kind occur, they may 
usually be ascribed to the imperfection of the agents, 
rather than of the rule itself. But 2. If serious evils 
should occur, and such as are not remediable by kind 
Christian conference, then our Church system pro- 
vides an authoritative, easily understood, readily ap- 
plicable way of correcting them. 

The second of these rules is connected with the 
first, as relating to the expenditure of funds; but it 
rests on other grounds — mainly the securing of disin- 
terested missionary service ; partly, the protection of 
missionaries from injurious reproach, as if they, like 
most other foreigners, were seeking pecuniary gain, 
etc. 



LXXI. 

CAN A MISSIONARY BOARD KEEP OUT 
OF DEBT? 

Yes, certainly. 

It is, however, no easy matter sometimes. Calls for 
new or enlarged work are urgent. Earnest friends, at 
home and abroad, insist on advanced action. The plea 



KEEPING OUT OF DEBT. 377 

of faith is a strong one : " You must have faith. The 
funds will come. Do not hesitate," etc. The Board 
itself sees clearly the open doors for work, is predis- 
posed to enter them, and feels assured that the churches 
are able to give larger funds. 

Nevertheless, the Board is but the steward of the 
Church's gifts to this cause, not the proprietor. It 
must of course act on the principle of faith ; but faith 
is not blind, and must have reference to the revealed 
will of God and to the leadings of his Providence — 
the latter as viewed in the light of the former, but yet 
requiring to be carefully considered. It would not be 
faith, it would be credulity every way injurious, for a 
Missionary Board to incur expenses which it could 
not reasonably expect to meet. Its position, in this 
matter, is much like that of a wise, enlightened busi- 
ness firm engaged in some lawful occupation ; it must 
keep in view its probable means of fulfilling its engage- 
ments ; otherwise, its action will soon be embarrassed, 
its hold on the confidence of the churches weakened, 
and its course end in disaster to sacred interests. In 
a proper sense, its business operations must be con- 
ducted on wise and sound business principles, which 
are surely consistent with true faith ; all wise men act 
on them, men of faith as well as others. But we need 
not dwell on these truisms. Leaving them for facts in 
the case — 

We refer to the past history of our Board, in reply. 
From 1833 to 1839, no debt was reported. In 1840, 
when the times were greatly depressed, there was a 
debt of $2,460, which was nearly extinguished next 



378 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

year. Thence to 1857, there were three instances of 
nominal indebtedness, the largest amounting to some 
$400. In 1857, another period of great financial diffi- 
culty, there was a debt of $11,030, but it was reduced 
in 1858 to less than $1,200. No debt was reported 
afterward until 1862, $952; nor any in the next three 
years. In 1866, there was an indebtedness of $2,849. 
Afterwards came " the flush times " following the war, 
and with them financial trouble to the Board. In 
1867, the indebtedness was $35,472 ; in 1868, $27,139; 
in 1869, $5,437; in 1870, $40,601 — but some of the 
friends of the Board sent in, as special donations, 
$41,210, so that the Board should enter on the era of 
reunion " out of debt/' The returns of later years are 
in the recollection of our readers or are easily acces- 
sible, and need not here be given. Nor shall we now 
refer to thoughts suggested by these figures, except 
to add that the confidence of the churches in the ad- 
ministration of the Board in all those former years — 
years of steady growth — and also the success of its 
missions, were both largely owing to the fact that it 
did keep out of debt. 



LXXII. 

THE DISCIPLINE OF A NARROW INCOME. 

All are opposed to retrenchment. Yet to a Mission- 
ary Board, as to a family, or an individual, it may be 



DISCIPLINE OF A NARRO W INCOME. 379 

unavoidable ; it may even be a wise and gracious dis- 
cipline. It may lead to a closer scrutiny of expenses, 
to a better adjustment of plans, to a greater sense of 
dependence on the blessing of God. Let a simple ex- 
ample be considered. A mission school of a hundred 
boarding-scholars may be conducted on the general 
idea of gaining advantage by large numbers. It is a 
great charge, however, in other respects than financial 
— a heavy, wearing burden on all the teachers, and 
especially on the ladies of the mission, in a tropical 
climate. Many of the scholars are not bright, but the 
school goes on in ordinary times with more or less of 
encouragement. 

Times of pecuniary trial follow ; it becomes neces- 
sary to reduce the number of scholars to sixty. The 
missionary brethren are led to select the boys and girls 
of best promise, to act more fully on the eclectic rule, 
to give greater thoroughness to their training, now 
more practicable with a smaller number, to make more 
particular reference to evangelistic objects, and this at 
less strain. The result of such recasting of methods 
is beneficial ; the narrow income becomes a useful dis- 
cipline, and leads to greater efficiency in some cases. 

However, we could wish that changes of missionary 
plans, if desirable or expedient, might be made not so 
much for reasons of pecuniary pressure as of wisdom 
from on high, profitable to direct. 



380 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

LXXIIL 

THE TIME REQUIRED FOR THE CONVERSION OF 
THE WORLD. 

One writer says it will take fifty years. A speaker 
lately specified twenty years. Our answer is, we do 
not know. Nor are we anxious to know. What the 
Church has to do is to preach the Gospel to every 
creature. To do this, in any complete sense, requires 
a great company of well-trained preachers. Ordinarily 
such men are not to be found in a short time. Many 
faithful missionaries have spent more than thirty 
years without seeing numerous conversions, yet their 
labors were included as a part of the all-gracious pur- 
pose of God towards the conversion of the world. 
What might be done, time and grace will show. 
Meanwhile, let each follower of Christ try to obey 
his last commandment, and feel sure that " the earth 
shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
waters cover the sea." 



LXXIV. 
OFFICES OF THE BOARD. 

THE late Old School Church pursued a generous 
and wise policy for its Boards, in providing suitable 
office-rooms for their executive work. In those davs 



OFFICES OF THE BOARD. 381 

there were three Boards in Philadelphia, and one in 
New York. Accordingly, in 1839, it is stated in an 
official appeal of the General Assembly : " As we 
have now three Boards of the Church — the Board 
of Domestic Missions, of Education, and of Publica- 
tion — in Philadelphia, and the Board of Foreign Mis- 
sions in New York, so at least two capacious build- 
ings, one in each city, are urgently needed. One 
such edifice in Philadelphia might accommodate the 
three sister institutions with their necessary offices." 
Accordingly donations were solicited for these pur- 
poses, to be made at the time appointed for com- 
memorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the General 
Assembly. For several years the three Boards in 
Philadelphia were accommodated in the building 
thus obtained. Afterwards a separate building was 
purchased for the Domestic Board in Arch Street. 
Upon reunion, the Arch Street house was sold, and 
the avails, over $28,000, were transferred to the 
Home Board in New York, — we always supposed for 
the same purpose or its equivalent. And after reunion, 
the old joint building, and the late New School pub- 
lishing house, with which it was united, were changed 
into the elegant edifice, 1334 Chestnut Street, where 
the Boards of Publication, Education, and Relief 
have now their excellent quarters, rent free as before. 
The Freedmen's Committee, one of the most impor- 
tant of our Domestic Boards, has no house of its own, 
but we believe its office is held at a low rent. 

In those days of 1839, ^ seemed not to have been 
expected that more than one Board would be placed 



382 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

in New York, and in giving, its warm approval to 
applications for funds for its use, the rooms required 
for offices, storage, etc., were referred to. and the ex- 
pectation was expressed that some parts of the build- 
ing might be rented so as to secure income to the 
Board. After about three years the requisite funds 
were obtained, the largest donor being an estimable 
lady, a member of the Scotch church, long since de- 
parted this life, and the next largest being a member 
of the First church, still living ; but gifts were also 
received from many other parts of the Church. And 
thus the modest but comfortable and well-built 
edifice at 23 Centre Street was obtained— to the great 
rejoicing of many friends, after the repeated and un- 
comfortable changes from place to place in rented 
rooms. This little sketch shows two things : I. The 
Mission House was not a joint building, but one for 
the Foreign Board alone. 2. That the funds invested 
in it were of the nature of a trust ; it was permissible 
to rent a part of it, and this was even expected, but 
the rent so obtained was to be used in aid of the 
Board's purposes. 

Accordingly, some rooms were rented as offices for 
lawyers, and one as a book-store for a time, and after- 
wards for other business purposes. A few years after 
reunion, this Centre Street building was put in good 
condition — a needed improvement, which would have 
been made long before but for some difference of 
opinion among our friends as to the expediency of 
" going up town." This question once settled, the 
missionary museum was brought from the third to 



OFFICES OF THE BOARD. 383 

the first story, and it became practicable to offer 
rooms for offices to the Home and the Church Exten- 
sion Boards at much less rent than they had been 
previously paying, and affording also better accom- 
modations than they had before obtained. The rent 
was fixed by a committee of business gentlemen 
representing the three Boards, but the rate was re- 
duced by the Foreign Board at its own instance two 
or three months ago, the reduction to take effect at 
the beginning of the current year. It stands now, 
as before, at a low rate. The " down-town " situation 
of this building, within easy reach of the shipping, 
post-office, banks, etc., is of great convenience. And 
now with the new and speedy modes of travel in 
this city, all converging to the City Hall Park, or else 
within easy reach of it, the situation of the Centre 
Street house has become so eligible, that it probably 
would be quite practicable to rent the rooms occupied 
by the Home and Church Erection Boards on advan- 
tageous terms to similar religious institutions. But 
we see certain great advantages in having our Pres- 
byterian offices in the same building. And we hope, 
if it is agreeable to all parties, it will be so ordered 
for many years. [1879]. 



384 MISSIONAR V PAPERS, 

LXXV. 
LENGTH OF MISSIONARY LIFE. 

It is an erroneous impression, and a very unhappy 
one, that the life of missionaries is always and neces- 
sarily short. This idea is sometimes presented with 
a degree of precision that is surprising, as when we 
are told that the average period of missionary life is 
five years and six months, or some other short term. 
We are confident that a full statement of the case 
would show a widely different result. 

The average length of life has no doubt increased 
with the greater knowledge of missionary countries, 
and the greater experience of missionary institutions. 
At first, men were sometimes sent out who were not 
well adapted to certain climates ; but now mistakes of 
this kind are less frequent. Great attention is very 
properly paid by the executive officers of missionary 
societies to this matter, though from the nature of 
the case mistakes may still too easily occur. Nor is 
their care limited to the selection of men having a 
good prospect of enjoying health : it follows them to 
their field of labor, and provides for their comfortable 
support, in circumstances as favorable to health as 
the climate, etc., will permit. As a mere matter of 
economy, to say nothing of usefulness, it would be 
unwise to expose the health of missionary laborers to 
any needless risk. 

Most of the missions of the Board are of too recent 



LENGTH OF MISSIONARY LIFE. 385 

origin, or they have too small a staff of laborers, to 
furnish valuable statistics on this subject ; but the 
mission in India may be considered an exception, in 
some degree, to this remark. We present here some 
statistics, drawn from the first ten years' history of 
the mission — the period from 1833 to 1842. The 
selection of this particular period allows us to test its 
lessons by a subsequent period of twenty-one years. 
[Some have died since 1 863, but we include only returns 
to that year.] And as the climate of this country is 
considered more injurious to the health of foreigners 
than any other excepting Western Africa, the lessons 
taught by these returns will be regarded as likely to 
be confirmed by the statistics of other missionary 
fields. 

We may tabulate the returns of the India mission 
as follows : 

Missionaries. Arrived in India. Left India. Died. 

W. R 1833 1834 1834 

J. C. L 1833 1836 

J. W 183s 1861 

J.N 1835 

J. R. C... 1836 1862 

J. McE 1836 1838 1845 

J.M.J 1836 1857 

W. S. R 1836 1843 

J. P 1836 1853 

J. C 1838 1845 

H. R. W 1838 1846 

J. H. M 1838 

J. L. S 1839 

J. E. F 1839 I&S7 

J. W 1839 1854 

17 



$86 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Missionaries. Arrived in India. Left India. Died. 

J. 1840 

J. C. R 1840 1848 

W. H. McA 1840 1851 

L. J 1842 

J. W 1842 1849 

On these returns we remark : 

1. The number of ministers who reached India 
in the first ten years of the mission, 1833-42, was 20. 

2. Of these, 15 are living, and 5 are dead. 

3. The age of most of these ministers we do not 
know with certainty, but we have reason to suppose 
that 27 years may be mentioned as the average, at 
the time of their arriving in India. Three of them 
were older than usual — 36, 35, 31 — which accounts 
for the rather high average, as compared with the age 
at which most of our ministers enter on their work. 
Of those now living, none have yet reached the age 
of 60 ; but of two who died, one was 62, and the 
other would now be 62 if his life had been spared. 

4. The average time of all since they went to India 
is over 21 years ; to this must be added, in order to 
complete the case, the average of whatever years may 
be allotted to the fifteen still living. 

5. The average time spent by these twenty min- 
isters in India is over 15 years. It is nearly 18 years, 
if we deduct the returns of three who probably ought 
not to have been sent to that country, on account of 
health. The average time spent by the six still in 
India is over 24 years. 

6. We may add concerning those still living who 



MISSIONAR Y DEP UTA TIONS. 387 

have returned to this country : Six came home for 
reasons of health, either of themselves or their wives, 
of whom three would not have been sent out under 
the views now ruling, and three returned for reasons 
connected with their families, but not referring pri- 
marily to health. All of these returned missionaries 
are still engaged in the work of the Church. 

These statistics, so far as they go, are of marked 
encouragement. They tend to show that the average 
of missionary life, even in India, is quite equal to 
that of ministerial life in this country. Life insur- 
ance companies, therefore, we should think, need not 
hesitate to take insurance risks on missionary life. 
What we chiefly note, however, is the evidence thus 
afforded to show how groundless is the notion that 
missionary life is necessarily short. These returns 
certainly teach a different lesson. 



LXXVI. 
MISSIONARY DEPUTATIONS. 

SOME missionary Boards have sent out deputations 
to inspect their missions ; usually a secretary or one 
of the executive officers is commissioned for this pur- 
pose. Like many things, this plan of superintendence 
has two sides. In its favor it is alleged : 1. That bet- 
ter knowledge of the mission is thereby gained. 2. 
That a wiser adjustment can be made of matters in 



388 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

the field. 3. That greater sympathy is secured with 
the missionaries. And 4. That a deeper interest- in 
the work at home can be created by the report of the 
deputation. A certain degree of weight should be 
given to some of these arguments, especially the last, 
but there are drawbacks. After considering the his- 
tory of several deputations from six missionary Socie- 
ties and Boards, we are led to think the most useful 
was that of a late secretary, previously an experienced 
missionary, who spent a year in one mission. But in 
general the drawbacks are serious. 

It is usually the case that the knowledge gained by 
a deputy is marked by imperfection. He can but 
seldom know the language of the natives, so that his 
opportunities of understanding difficult subjects are 
limited ; and usually his visit is a flying one, seldom 
occupying more than a few days. We have had 
reason to complain in this country of many books of 
travel by Europeans, even by some who speak our 
language, written after spending a few months amongst 
us ; much more should we expect the report of a hasty 
visit by a missionary deputy to India or China to be 
lacking in thoroughness. He has seldom time to be- 
come well acquainted personally with each mission- 
ary, much less to penetrate fully into the difficult sub- 
jects, which often in great variety mark the condition 
of the work. 

Another adverse thing is the embarrassing relative 
position of the deputy and the missionary. The lat- 
ter may readily feel that his standing and his work are 
liable to be reported " at headquarters " in a way that 



MISSIONAR Y DEP UTA TIONS. 389 

may do him injustice— not intentionally, of course, but 
yet too readily in view of the circumstances. And if 
to this be added the difficulty which the former must 
meet, from his brief and slight acquaintance, the risk 
of evil seems to be serious. If, moreover, the deputy 
reaches conclusions without a full knowledge of 
the history of the mission, and a patient study 
of the missionaries ; and if he is predisposed to be 
impressed by great and visible results rather than 
by the slower, though it may be deeper, causes at 
work; this relative position of the deputy and the 
missionary in the midst of his labors may prove 
not only embarrassing, but seriously injurious to the 
best interests. Indeed if such official or semi-official 
visits must be made, as of urgent need in mission 
work, then would emerge a strong argument for regu- 
lar Episcopal jurisdiction — subject as it would be to 
Church law, and not solely to personal traits. Let the 
deputy be a man of strong convictions, and one confi- 
dent in his theories, and it will not be strange if he 
presses his views to a result that may work great harm, 
all the more to be deprecated if such result is reached 
against the judgment of missionary brethren of ability 
equal or superior to his own, and of thorough acquaint- 
ance with their life-long work. This, unhappily, is not 
a fancy sketch of imaginary evil, though not in any 
mission of our Board. 

A minor and yet not unimportant adverse thing is 
the expense which these deputations involve. A jour- 
ney to and from distant missionary countries requires a 
considerable pecuniary outlay. Meanwhile the salary 



39Q MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

of the deputy, if he is an executive officer, is going on.' 
Expense must be incurred, moreover, for conducting 
the service of the office in the absence of its incumbent. 
Now all of this may be money well expended, if the 
exigencies of the service require it ; otherwise, it is 
not a justifiable expenditure. 

But finally there is " a more excellent way." It can 
be stated in a few words : Appoint the right kind of 
men as missionaries and as secretaries, and then trust 
them, under the usual safeguards against injurious ac- 
tion which our Church has provided. Especially let 
the secretaries carry in their minds full and particular 
knowledge of details. These may be readily acquired, 
and can not safely be neglected. Besides this, is the 
information and counsel derived from missionaries 
when they return to this country on visits, which are 
often of great value. And there is the regular cor- 
respondence, the letters of every month, or every 
week, in many cases ; the annual reports of the mis- 
sions; the careful, discriminating, yet sympathetic 
study at the missionary office of everything that af- 
fects the work of the mission ; the mature action of 
the missionary board ; the authoritative judgment of 
the Church in its General Assembly, — all pervaded by 
the spirit of earnest consecration to Christ, and influ- 
enced by common views of doctrine, Church order, and 
Christian duty. All of these tend to lessen the need of 
deputations. Let the public sentiment of the churches, 
and the baptism of the Holy Spirit, pervade and rein- 
force all the counsels and measures of our work of 
missions, and then its whole movement may be ex- 



RECALL OF A MISSIONARY. 391 

pected to go forward abroad, as our church work does 
at home, without the aid of special and official visits. 
Indeed these seem to be rarely if ever needed, and 
are certainly open to grave objections ; while yet the 
visits of Christian friends, clothed with no official 
character, may well be welcomed in every mission. 



LXXVII. 
RECALL OF A MISSIONARY. 

THE recall or dismissal of a missionary may some- 
times become a duty. This is evident in cases of 
flagrant immorality, when confessed. In cases less 
evident it may also become expedient, as in the event 
of chronic ill-health, without reasonable hope of re- 
covery, and involving a heavy burden on other mis- 
sionaries, hindering them in their work ; the failure to 
learn the native language, the want of industry and 
concentration of purpose in the duties of missionary 
life, mental incompetency for efficient missionary 
labors, etc. The funds of the Church should not be 
misused in the support of men that can not or will 
not do the work for which they were commissioned. 

The manner of such recall, in cases not of immor- 
ality, is a subject of some difficulty as well as of 
practical moment. It clearly should not be such as 
would inflict needless suffering, much less such as 
would hinder one's usefulness in other work for 



392 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Christ. Neither should this action be taken at the 
instance of a secretary, nor a resignation of a mission- 
ary be enforced by his influence, without fair and 
open hearing by the Board. Moreover, the dismis- 
sion or compulsory resignation of a missionary should 
not result from the action of his brethren in the field 
without previous brotherly conference with him, and 
his having at their hands due notice of their dissatis- 
faction and fair opportunity of self-defence. In no 
case should they take indirect action to effect his dis- 
missal ; but on the golden rule and according to the 
spirit if not the letter of the rules of the Church, they 
should give him previous notice of the course which 
they intended to pursue. It is needless, however, to 
enumerate the various phases of a subject of this 
kind. The Board's rule is clear and comprehensive : 
it " reserves to itself the right of recalling a mission- 
ary or of dissolving its connection with him, for suffi- 
cient reasons, which are to be of record, and to be 
submitted to the General Assembly with the minutes 
of the Board." 

In any case of alleged immorality, if not confessed, 
but denied, the accused is entitled to be heard by his 
Presbytery before final dismissal is reached, though 
suspension from missionary service may be necessary 
when it is impracticable to secure action of the Presby- 
tery without considerable delay. Happily but few 
such cases ever occur. Cases not of immorality are 
also rare, and are seldom to be expected if careful 
judgment is exercised in the appointment of mission- 
aries. But when it appears to be evident that a mis- 



RECALL OF A MLSSLONARY. 393 

take was made in the appointment of a missionary, 
then all the careful steps already indicated in this 
paper should be taken after prayerful and candid con- 
sideration, so that no man's good name and influence 
may be put in risk of injury without sufficient cau:e, 
nor without reasons that are " of record " — such 
reasons and such proofs, in short, as are required by 
the standards of the Church in Presbyterian com- 
munions. And in all cases, whatever action is taken 
may be brought under review in various ways by the 
Church courts, and redress secured if injury has been 
suffered. This reserved right may be considered as 
rendering needless any more specific reference to the 
action of Presbyteries in such cases. Instances 
could be given where no such action would be desired 
by brethren who were most concerned ; indeed, would 
be only embarrassing to them. But with the open 
and free light of presbyterial action in any case, there 
can be little if any risk of evil ; certainly none that 
could not be redressed. 

In order to avoid turning public attention unneces- 
sarily to cases not involving immorality, frank and 
kind conference between a missionary and his brethren, 
or a missionary and the Board or its secretary, may 
be highly expedient. No objection is perceived to 
such conference taking the form of unofficial, kind, 
personal letters, which should frankly state the case, 
and then leave the missionary free to follow his own 
views of duty, free to ask for official action and to 
abide at his post until he received further light. 
And he might well feel grateful for such informal con- 

17* 



394 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

ference, if it were conducted in a Christian spirit. 
He might also feel grateful if thereby he were led to 
withdraw from a post to which he was ill adapted, 
and to enter some other field of labor without loss of 
influence and without embarrassing publicity. 



LXXVIII. 
" MISSION " OR PRESBYTERY. 

In many of the countries occupied by our Mission- 
ary Board, a considerable class of local affairs is en- 
trusted to a Committee, consisting of the foreign 
ministers and laymen on the ground, and usually 
called a " Mission." This is different from a Presby- 
tery, so that often two organizations are in practical 
use. It is sometimes difficult to draw the line be- 
tween them, so many things are common to both ; 
but it is customary to regard such local affairs as are 
matters of business — the purchase of property when 
authorized, repairs of mission houses, wages of native 
employ6s, etc., as belonging to the mission. When 
this body goes beyond these minor and business mat- 
ters, and proceeds to license candidates for the min- 
istry, to ordain ministers, to subject them to trial, 
discipline, or removal from office, it clearly steps out- 
side of presbyterial order. It then invades the 
province of Presbytery. 

But why should this double system be maintained ? 



"MISSION" OR PRESBYTERY. 395 

Why should not Presbytery itself take the direction 
of all local missionary affairs ? Such matters as are 
partly of a business nature could be placed in the 
hands of Committees, which should report their action 
to the Presbytery, just as is done in this country ; it 
is not apparent why a different course should be 
pursued in the missionary field. Instead of dual pro- 
ceedings we should then see the usual simplicity of 
action which marks the meetings of our Presbyteries. 
In favor of this unity and comprehensiveness of 
order weighty reasons may be given. 

1. The " Mission " is not an outgrowth of mission- 
ary rule from Presbyterian ideas. It is taken from 
the usages of denominations, in which no authority 
is recognized outside of the local church ; nor any 
acknowledgment of representation as a convenient and 
practicable method of ascertaining the common will 
of the churches united in one body; and in which, 
moreover, the foreign missionaries must too often act 
as quasi bishops, not responsible to any church. All 
this differs from the order of our body. An apparent 
exception occurred in India, in allowing the ministers of 
two Presbyterian denominations, who could not meet 
in Presbytery, to meet on common ground as a " Mis- 
sion," each denomination reserving all ecclesiastical 
rights ; but this expedient is no longer needed there. 
Viewing the "Mission " as a thing imported and not 
of home origin, it does not seem to agree well with 
the ordinary methods of our church work. To have 
both Presbytery and Mission seems to be surplusage. 

2. The membership of the Mission is too narrow — 



396 MISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

merely that of the foreign laborers. In Presbytery both 
foreign and native ministers and elders meet together 
on favorable conditions. It is right, however, to con- 
sider here an objection which is often interposed 
against common action by foreigners and natives in 
many things, and especially in matters of a pecuniary 
kind, — to the effect that as the native members would 
often outnumber the foreign, they could control the 
expenditure of moneys which they had no share in 
collecting, and the sources of which they could not 
well understand. There is force in this objection. 
But in the first place they could be taught and trained 
to understand the subject in its proper merits, as indeed 
they must be on any theory. In the next place, the 
Missionary Board at home would no doubt adopt the 
rule of requiring the approval and consent of the 
foreign members, in the expenditure of its funds in 
all cases. This rule now obtains under the " Mission," 
and therefore it would require the adoption of no 
new principle ; it is the principle of election which 
the Church need never disavow. And inasmuch as 
this rule would not be applicable to the expenditure 
of funds contributed by the native churches, it would 
give no reasonable occasion of complaint. If cases 
of discipline should occur in which the foreign mem- 
bers might be without adequate protection, redress 
could be obtained by their having the right of appeal 
to the Church at home. In some form this right 
would be secured to them. As to all other things 
the foreign and the native members would stand on 
the same footing, and all would enjoy the advantages 



"MISSION" OR PRESBYTERY. 397 

■*. 
of mutual counsel, sympathy, co-operation, and fellow- 
ship, abroad as at home. This part of the case is 
treated elsewhere in these papers, and need not be 
further stated here, though it suggests — 

3. That hence a great gain of power in the missionary 
work would be obtained. Common action and mutual 
sympathy would unite the two factors, the foreign and 
the native, in the counsel and direction of their work. 
Whatever lessens the apparent reserve or distance 
of position, on the one side, and the jealous, sus- 
picious, or hurt feeling on the other side, would be 
valuable ; the Presbytery is an agency for all, and one 
not needlessly exclusive. Differences would still 
exist in the style of living, dress, and other conven- 
tional matters, which might well be left to take care 
of themselves, and which would be wisely settled by 
Christian love and wisdom ; but the great bond of 
union to Christ and then to his Church, as represented 
in Presbytery in a special sense for all ministers and 
elders, would lead both parties to the best order 
and quality of service in the spread of the Gospel. 
They would there meet together as brethren, having 
a common standing and a common work. Such is 
the happy relation of all ministers and elders to each 
other and such their common work in our home Pres- 
byteries ; it is not perceived why equally good results 
may not be obtained abroad. This is true especially 
in all questions and cases appertaining to the prepa- 
ration of ministers of the Gospel, as well as in the 
supervision of their labors. 

4. In cases of trouble, personal alienation, alleged 



398 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

misconduct, especially if these should unhappily occur 
among the foreign laborers, the Presbytery is greatly 
to be preferred to the " Mission." It is a cause of 
deep regret that such cases should ever occur, but it 
need not be a matter of surprise. Missionaries have 
their imperfections and may sometimes fall like other 
men. The circumstances in which they are placed 
may call for the graces of patience, forbearance, and 
forgiveness. Sometimes it is needful to invoke the 
exercise of discipline. In both Presbytery and Mis- 
sion, as the latter is usually understood, such proceed- 
ing may take place. Both may be disturbed by 
divided counsels in some cases ; both may be left to 
ill-advised measures ; both may be embarrassed by 
alienated feeling ; but in all cases the Presbytery 
takes its action by a well-known method of procedure. 
Its rules are definite ; its official responsibility is not 
irresponsible. Its decision is subject to appeal and 
review. Under its process it would not be practicable 
for good men to adopt proceedings without previous 
conference with, and notice to, an alleged delin- 
quent, which should end with a resolution injuri- 
ous to his missionary career. Nor would cases be 
likely to occur under Presbytery, when through per- 
sonal difficulties able and good men should be led to 
withdraw from missionary service. It is objected 
that this action, having ordinarily to be taken in 
public proceedings, does serious injury to the native 
Christian community ; but even " Mission " action is 
certain to become known. Besides, the fair exercise 
of Church discipline never injures the cause of re- 



HENRY MARTYN'S BURIAL-PLACE. 399 

ligion ; on the contrary, it becomes the means of bene- 
fit in various ways. 

It is not wise to make too much of personal difficul- 
ties. Their occurrence is exceptional ; but when they 
do occur the question arises, how can they be dealt 
with in the best way? We must indeed rely mainly 
on divine grace for the prevention and the correction 
of most cases of trouble; but when such cases actually 
occur we know of no better tribunal for their settle- 
ment, whether at home or abroad, than is provided in 
Presbytery. 

In the view of these reasons we should be glad to 
see our foreign missionary work conducted abroad on 
the same theory is at home. 



LXXIX. 

HENRY MARTYN'S BURIAL-PLACE. 

MOST of our readers have heard of Henry Martyn. 
His memoir is one of the finest biographies in our 
language. His character as a Christian, a minister, a 
missionary, receives the homage of every pious heart. 
Distinguished for talents of the first order and scholar- 
ship of the highest grade, occupying a position from 
which advancement to stations of honor and wealth 
could be expected with certainty, endowed with the 
warmest and tenderest affections — fitting him to 
enjoy keenly the society of his relatives and friends, 



4 oo MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

he gave up all these, and went alone to India, to 
spend his life in the service of the Redeemer. There 
he was a faithful minister of the Gospel during a 
short but brilliant career. His labors were abundant, 
both among Europeans and natives. For the latter, 
he made an excellent translation of the New Testa- 
ment into Hindustani. His health becoming im- 
paired, and being anxious to perfect a translation of 
the New Testament in the Persian language, he left 
India on his return to England, travelling through 
Persia. On this journey he suffered severely from 
fatigue and exposure, and died far from his family, 
and without the presence of any Christian friends, 
but upheld and cheered by the presence and grace of 
that great Friend, who only can go with us through 
the valley of the shadow of death. The last entry 
in his journal was under date of October 6, 1812, a 
short time before his death. He was then extremely 
feeble, from the effects of fever, aggravated by the 
merciless conduct of his Mohammedan conductor or 
guide, who had compelled him to pursue his journey 
on horseback by night and day. 

" No horses being to be had, I had an unexpected 
repose. I sat in the orchard, and thought with sweet 
comfort and peace, of my God — in solitude my com- 
pany, my friend and comforter. Oh ! when shall 
time give place to eternity ! when shall appear that 
new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth right- 
eousness ! There, there shall in no wise enter in 
anything that defileth ; none of that wickedness 
which has made men worse than wild beasts ; none of 



HENR Y MARTYN 'S B URIAL-PLACE. 401 

those corruptions which add still more to the miseries 
of mortality, shall be seen or heard of any more." 

Soon afterwards he died, before reaching his thirty- 
second year. He was buried by strangers in the Per- 
sian city of Tocat. His death and burial there have 
led tens of thousands of persons to think of that city 
with peculiar interest, and to offer many prayers for 
the conversion of its bigoted inhabitants. 

We are taught many valuable lessons by the ex- 
ample of such a man as Henry Martyn. Some of 
these we may briefly specify: 

1. The highest talents and attainments may be 
nobly employed in the work of the Gospel ministry. 

2. And also in the field of Christian missions. 

3. A high order of piety will greatly promote the 
usefulness of a minister, and also of a missionary. 

4. Near and constant communion with God will 
cheer his servants in solitude, and in all times of diffi- 
culty and danger. 

5. The grace of God can make our dying hour 
peaceful, under any circumstances. 

6. Missionaries do not live in vain, who are called 
away by an early death. Henry Martyn lived but a 
few years in India, but for nearly seventy years has his 
example been speaking to the people of God, calling 
them to a life of piety, of self-denial, of holy enter- 
prise, of deep concern, and active labors for them that 
are perishing for lack of vision. " He being dead, 
yet speaketh." 

7. Let young men study Henry Martyn's life, for 



403 AMISSION AR Y PAPERS. 

its large views of what a Christian may hope to do in 
the service of God. 

8. Let ministers and members of our churches, old 
and young, study such an example as this, as a means 
of helping them to rise above the common spirit of 
worldliness, self-indulgence, love of ease. Why may 
not I — why may not all, reach a like standard of holy 
living? 

9. Let our children think of Tocat, and of many a 
mission station among the heathen, as places where 
God can make his people happy while they live, and 
from which, when they die, he will take them home 
to a better country, even an heavenly. 



LXXX. 
REV. C. A JACOBI. 

In looking over an English missionary work, pub- 
lished nearly thirty years ago, we were struck with 
some of the notices of the short missionary life of 
this excellent man. 

He was born in Saxony, educated at Leipsic and 
Halle, accepted as a missionary by the Christian 
Knowledge Society, England, and publicly designated 
to South India on the 23d of March, 1814; when an 
able and learned address was delivered to him by 
Archdeacon Middleton, who was afterwards the first 
Episcopal bishop in India. In his reply to this ad- 



REV. a A. JACOB I. 403 

dress, Mr. Jacobi mentioned an interesting circum- 
stance in his early life : 

" When a boy of seven years, my father, one of 
the most learned and pious ministers of the church 
of Saxony, telling me something about this country* 
said, ' Behold, God has certainly yet great designs 
with England, and it is a mighty instrument in his 
hands to establish his kingdom on earth.' On his 
then telling me of the missions, I felt so deeply 
touched that I cried out, ' Father, I will one day go 
to England, from thence to be sent out among the 
Gentiles.* And from that time all my thoughts were 
filled with this design. Childish as this might appear, 
my father kept these words in his heart ; and when I 
afterwards had been four years at the college, and the 
hour of his death approached, he wrote me that I 
might tell him, before he died, what my resolution 
about my future state of life was. I answered that I 
was determined, if it pleased the Lord, to follow what 
I thought my calling to the mission. I was then six- 
teen years of age. My father, answering to this, ex- 
horted me to look carefully on the ways of God with 
me ; not to presume to guide my own fate ; but as he 
had no objection to my determination, he wished me 
the blessings of God to it. Alas ! this was his last 
letter ; the last words of which were, * May the Lord 
finish his work ! ' He soon after died, and thus took 
my promise, to be a missionary, with him before the 
heavenly throne." 

In the early stage of his theological studies, this 
young man was nearly persuaded to adopt the ration- 



404 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

alistic or infidel sentiments which were taught at 
Leipsic ; but he escaped from this danger through 
the influence of the Rev. Dr. Knapp. He became a 
minister of the Lutheran Church, and seems to have 
possessed popular talents, as he had flattering invita- 
tions to " many lucrative livings in Saxony, Austria, 
and Russia," which his friends urged him to accept. 
His heart was set, however, on going as a missionary 
to the heathen, and in due time the door was opened, 
and he sailed for India in the year 1814. 

In the opinion of those who knew him well, few 
men were better qualified for the duties to which he 
had devoted himself. Though but twenty-two years 
of age, he was able to preach in English, to hold con- 
versation with a Romish priest, whom he met at 
Madeira on the voyage out, in Portuguese and Latin, 
and to converse with some lascars of the ship's crew 
in the Arabic language ; and his general deportment 
during the voyage had been so exemplary as greatly 
to have endeared him to the officers, passengers, and 
sailors. 

He reached Madras in September of the same year. 
The strong wish of his heart seemed now to be 
granted, and the prospect of usefulness before him 
was most animating. An important department of 
missionary duty was awaiting him at Tanjore ; for 
which station he soon afterwards began his journey. 
His views of his important work were well matured ; 
and his religious feelings, as expressed by himself, 
indicated the sincere, humble, and devoted character 
of his piety. 



REV. C. A. JACOB 1 . 405 

" Now I live in India ; and though many things 
around me are strange, yet they give me not much 

trouble I do not regret that I have left Europe, 

where I could have lived in great comfort. I do not 
wish to return, though I am sure my friends and re- 
lations would receive me with open arms. I am above 
such things. This is not the affected indifference of 
a cold philosopher : not at all ; it is an indifference 
which only can be produced by the grace of God. I 

have now done my duty I expect a life of 

trouble and affliction. I shall go through good and 
bad report. Christ does not forsake the servant for 
whom he hath already done so much. I see now ful- 
filled, in my twenty-second year, what I desired as a 

boy of seven years I have been in the school 

of God, and time will show whether I am truly his 
servant or not." 

These were among the last lines he ever wrote. On 
the journey to Tanjore he was taken ill, and soon de- 
parted this life. It would seem that no Christian 
friend was with him during his last hours ; but doubt- 
less, the promise of our Lord was fulfilled to his ser- 
vant, and his presence would support and cheer his 
dying moments. 

This brief sketch suggests two or three remarks : 

1. We can not but admire the devoted piety of 
Mr. Jacobi's father. His mind must have formed 
large conceptions of the work of God amongst the 
nations, and of the means which he employs for its 
.performance ; and his heart must have been filled 
with a deep sense of the glory of Christ and the 



406 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

worth of immortal souls ; otherwise he would not 
have been at pains to direct the mind of his son to 
the work of missions, and to encourage him to en- 
gage in it. 

2. Parents have it in their power to exert the 
greatest influence on the character and conduct of 
their children. Pious parents should consider this 
kind of influence as a solemn trust, reposed in them 
by their Heavenly Father, for the good of their off- 
spring and for the promotion of the cause of religion. 

3. Missionary piety is conservative. The mission- 
ary spirit of young Jacobi probably saved him from 
becoming a Neologian. It certainly saved him from 
the too common evil in Europe, of settling in the pas- 
toral office under the influence of worldly motives. 

4. The dispensations of Providence are often ex- 
ceedingly mysterious. This excellent young minister, 
after having been led by his own father to look with 
desire on the missionary work ; after having been 
endued with the grace of the Holy Spirit to escape 
the power of soul-destroying error, and to look with 
indifference on flattering worldly prospects ; after 
having acquired unusual furniture of mind for the 
duties of his prospective calling ; after the outward 
door of Providence had been set open before him, 
and even the particular post of duty designated by 
the unanimous opinion of his more experienced mis- 
sionary brethren — after all these things, this promising 
young missionary is cut down on the very threshold 
of his active labors ! Truly, the Lord's thoughts are 
not as our thoughts ! 



REV. C. A. JACOB I. 407 

We must not, however, interpret such trying dis- 
pensations as contradicting what God has revealed as 
duty. The voice of Providence and of revelation are 
always accordant, though we may not comprehend 
their meaning. By such events the Church is taught 
her dependence on God ; it is her sin as well as her 
folly, that she is prone to make far too much of man, 
and of human attainments. Christians should learn, 
also, the necessity of being in earnest in their Lord's 
cause ; they know not how short may be their time of 
endeavoring to promote it. The work of missions, 
moreover, is a work to live for and to die in ; it can 
not be too zealously supported ; doubtless every 
faithful missionary has been comforted by this con- 
viction in his last hours ; and all Christians would 
have the same impressions of its deep importance, if 
they would but duly consider its aim and object, and 
the solemn obligations and motives by which it is 
made their duty. Without going, however, into a 
particular consideration and improvement of such 
providences, we shall conclude this paper with an ex- 
tract from the pious reflections of another German 
missionary, after giving an account of the early death 
of a missionary in Africa in the year previous to Mr. 
Jacobi's death : 

" We are not the councillors of our Heavenly 
Father, but only his adopted children, and that merely 
out of pure mercy, through the redemption of Christ ; 
and if we attain that state of perfect felicity in Christ, 
in which I trust our deceased companion is now, we 
shall then know and understand why God has acted 



408 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

so contrary to our intentionally good designs, and 
shall surely find cause to praise him for those very 
dispensations which now thwart our desires and 
hopes. Let not, therefore, his mysterious ways dis- 
courage us ; but, faithfully persevering in doing good 
to all men, with simplicity and singleness of heart, 
fearing and loving the Lord, let us work while it is 
day, for the night cometh when no man can work." 



LXXXL 

DEATH OF DR. REVEL. 

THE Rev. J. P. Revel, D.D., departed this life at his 
home in Florence, Italy, on the nth of June, 1877, in 
the sixty-first year of his age. He was known to many 
of our readers as the representative in this country on 
two visits, in 1853 and 1870, of the venerable Vaudois 
or Waldensian Synod. He was long a pastor in the 
Vaudois valleys, and he was an active member — for 
several years the president of the Table, or Vaudois 
Administrative and Missionary Commission, through 
whose agency the evangelizing work of the Synod was 
extended into many parts of Italy. For a number of 
years he was a professor in the School of Theology at 
Florence. He was a man of rare good sense, indefati- 
gable zeal, beautiful simplicity, and of piety full of 
gentleness and all good fruits. The correspondence of 
our Board, in regard to its taking some part in the good 



" SER VICE FOR LIFE." 409 

work of the Synod, was conducted mainly with Dr. 
Revel, and all his letters breathed the same excellent 
spirit which gave so much interest to his addresses 
before the General Assembly in Philadelphia and Al- 
bany, and in many churches of our own and other de- 
nominations. Few that heard him, shortly before he 
left this country last year, will forget the animation 
with which he spoke of his Church, as waiting to send 
a missionary to Rome, and this he was permitted to 
see before he finished his course. But we must not 
extend this notice of our departed friend. To hu- 
man view, his loss to the Waldensian Church, and to 
the cause of Christ in Italy, seems to be almost irrep- 
arable ; but the Lord will raise up others to carry on 
his work. The last days of Dr. Revel were full of 
peace. For him to live was Christ, and to die was 
gain. 



LXXXII. 
"SERVICE FOR LIFE." 

" The appointment of missionaries contemplates a 
service for life, if the Lord will ; except in cases speci- 
fied by the applicants, and agreed to by the Board, 
and also excepting the cases of teachers among the 
Indian tribes, whose term of service ought not to be 
less than three years." Many good reasons may be 
assigned for this rule of the Board. 

It is applicable, in its principle, to the supporters of 
18 



410 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 

missions by prayers and gifts, not less than to the mis- 
sionaries. It is a service for life to us all — a service 
resulting from grace received, inspired by love and 
gratitude, directed to the glory of God, and the sal- 
vation of souls, not to be fulfilled by fitful or transient 
impulses, but to be habitual, steadily onward, never- 
ceasing. We connect this service with the Church, as 
the divinely appointed organization, at once perma- 
nent, stable, including all the elements of success. 

Our prayers therefore will be continued so long as 
life lasts for the coming of Christ's kingdom. Our 
church collections, and our personal offerings of con- 
secrated money, may indeed vary in amount, and in 
other circumstances, but they will be also a life-ser- 
vice; other things being equal, we shall prefer to 
make our gifts regularly to the great cause itself as 
of constant interest, rather than to its special objects, 
which are often changing ; and we shall refuse to ad- 
mit the idea that the work of spreading the Gospel is 
to be well promoted by temporary expedients. There 
is a far-reaching principle here, one that has many ap- 
plications, — but we only add, that if our missionary 
service is for life, its results for ourselves and for others 
reach into eternity ; its highest reward is the Saviour's 
approval, " Well done, good and faithful servant." 



GIFTS AND DEPARTURE OF FRIENDS. 411 

LXXXIII. 
THE GIFTS AND THE DEPARTURE OF FRIENDS. 

The death recently of two of the largest donors to 
our cause will call forth great regret, and arrest wide 
attention, as we hope. One of these gentlemen was 
Mr. James Lenox ; the other, a few weeks before, was 
Mr. Alexander Stuart. They and Mr. Robert L. 
Stuart, still living, have for many years been the three 
largest donors to the cause of missions in our Church. 
Their gifts have amounted to thousands of dollars 
each for many years. We have often thought they 
were called and permitted to do a special and greatly 
needed work in the support of this cause, especially in 
its earlier years. We bless God for the grace of liberal 
giving vouchsafed unto them. It was their privilege 
as well as their duty to offer liberal gifts to their Lord's 
treasury, and so they esteemed it. It was to Christ 
they give their treasures. They do not lose his re- 
ward. 

It is right to pray that others may be raised up to 
carry forward, by like giving, their noble work. And 
it is right also that each and all of the disciples of 
Christ should give according to their several ability. 
The lesser gifts of the whole number would far ex- 
ceed the princely gifts of the few. How many liberal 
givers have we known whose offerings could be only 
a few dollars each ! And how many more might do 
likewise ! 



412 MISSIONAR Y PAPERS. 



LXXXIV. 

WILLIAM W. PHILLIPS, JAMES LENOX, AND 
WALTER LOWRIE. 

THE names of these three men were long connected 
with the executive work of foreign missions in New 
York. They had previously been directors of the 
Western Foreign Missionary Society, which was or- 
ganized by the Synod of Pittsburg, and transferred 
to the Board of the General Assembly, when it was 
formed. The first was chairman of the Executive 
Committee from the beginning in 1837, and after the 
death of the Rev. Samuel Miller, D.D., he was also 
President of the Board, until his death in 1865. The 
second was a member of the same Committee from 
the beginning until 1873, and also President from 
1870 to 1873, succeeding the Rev. Charles Hodge, 
D.D. Though resigning his place in the Board, he 
continued to be the same faithful and liberal friend of 
the cause during the remaining years of his life. The 
third was the Corresponding Secretary of the Board, 
from the beginning until near the end of his life in 1 868. 
There were other men of the highest standing who 
were also in the executive counsels of the Board — 
among them, enumerating only those who have de- 
parted this life, the Rev. Drs. Janeway, McElroy, 
Potts, J. W. Alexander, Spring, and Krebs, and 
Messrs. Olyphant, Donaldson, and others ; but they 
would all have mentioned the names of these three 



PHILLIPS, LENOX, LOWRIE. 413 

men as the pillars in this temple of work and worship 
in the service of God. 

Dr. Phillips was a man of noble personal presence, 
to which was added a dignified manner, coupled with 
the sincerest warmth of heart. His intellect was of a 
high order, broad and clear in all its action, and his 
religious views showed the thoroughness of his theo- 
logical training, for some time under the celebrated 
Dr. John M. Mason. In prayer, both in public ser- 
vices and in his family, he was rarely equalled. For 
a long period he was the honored minister of the 
First church of our order in New York, a church of 
remarkable and noble record. He was a leading 
member of the Presbytery of New York, and often 
represented it as a Commissioner to the General As- 
sembly, of which he was elected as Moderator in 1835. 
He held stations of high trust both in the Church and 
in the institutions of the city, and in all he was a 
leader of public councils. As a friend and supporter 
of the cause of missions he was devoted to its service, 
and exerted no ordinary influence in its behalf. In all 
his great work, he was ever marked by consideration 
for the views of his brethren, and he was a model to 
them of all Christian courtesy. He departed this life, 
March 20, 1865, in the. sixty-ninth year of his age. The 
writer of these papers esteems it as a real favorto have 
known this eminent and admirable man. It was his 
privilege to draft the Minute of the Board, brief ac- 
cording to its usage, which was adopted April 3, 1865. 

" The late Rev. William W. Phillips, D.D., chairman 
of the Committee, and President of the Board of 



4H MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Foreign Missions, having been called from this life 
since their last meeting, the members of the Commit- 
tee agreed to place on record the following Minute : 

u ' That in the removal by death of this eminent 
minister of the Gospel, they bow with humble sub- 
mission to the will of God, while they deeply feel the 
heavy loss sustained by the Church, particularly in 
regard to the work of Missions. In this cause their 
departed friend and brother ever felt the deepest in- 
terest ; and, as chairman of this Committee for 
twenty-eight years, by his constant presence at its 
meetings, his unvarying courtesy, his excellent judg- 
ment, and his earnest and prayerful consideration of 
all matters requiring attention, he was permitted to 
render invaluable service in promoting the success of 
this Christian work ; as also, by his great influence in 
the congregation of which he was pastor, and in the 
Church at large, of which he was a noble pillar. 

" ' The Committee therefore deplore his removal 
from their councils, but they bless God for his good 
example, and they would endeavor to follow him, 
even as he followed Christ.' " 

Mr. Lenox was one of the remarkable men of 
his day. Gifted with mental powers of a high order 
and admirably balanced, carefully educated and 
marked by breadth of culture, sincere and exemplary 
in his religious life, thorough in his understanding 
and belief of the doctrines and order of his Church, 
yet catholic in his spirit ; for many years an elder 
of the First church of New York, and often represent- 
ing the Presbytery of New York in the General As- 



PHILLIPS, LENOX, LOWRIE. 415 

sembly ; the heir and possessor of large wealth, which 
he used as a Christian steward with a liberality seldom 
equalled, he was ever a considerate, courteous, modest, 
rare gentleman — one held in the highest respect and 
esteem by all who knew him. It was the privilege 
of the cause of missions that it had among its friends 
and counsellors one so well qualified by enlightened 
views, admirable judgment, and almost unexampled 
liberality, to extend its influence and usefulness 
amongst men. He died February 17, 1880, in the 
eightieth year of his age. The Minute of the Board, 
toned in its terms to accord with his well-known 
aversion to public notice, may properly find a place 
in this paper : 

" From 1834 to 1873 Mr. Lenox was officially con- 
nected with the Board as one of its members ; dur- 
ing most of its time as a member also of its Execu- 
tive Committee ; and for the last three years of this 
period, as its President, succeeding the late Dr. Charles 
Hodge. During all these years, when he was in the 
city, he was seldom absent from its meetings, and 
he shared its counsels with deep interest. His 
opinions were wisely formed, clearly expressed, and 
with deference to the views of the other members. 
As President, he was judicious and courteous in admin- 
istration. His gifts to this cause were of great liber- 
ality, and were made without ostentation, their source 
often being known amongst men only to the secre- 
tary or treasurer to whom they were sent. 

" The members of the Board take sincere pleasure 
in paying this tribute to the memory of their departed 



416 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

Christian friend and fellow-laborer. And they express 
their gratitude to God for the grace given to his ser- 
vant, enabling him to adorn the doctrines of his pro- 
fession as an humble follower of our Lord and Saviour 
Jesus Christ, to use his ample means for great service 
to the Church and its interests, and at length in a 
good old age to enter into the rest that remaineth to 
the people of God." 

Mr. Lowrie was the Secretary of the Board from 
1836 until near his death, December 14, 1868, in the 
eighty-fifth year of his age. His previous service 
in public life — in the Senate of Pennsylvania, in the 
Senate of the United States, and as Secretary of the 
United States Senate, the latter of which he resigned 
in order to accept the appointment of Secretary of 
the Board of Missions — he himself regarded as a valu- 
able preparation for his work in the Board and its 
duties among the churches. His influence and use- 
fulness in this work were, it is believed, generally 
recognized in the Church, and were attested with re- 
markable emphasis in the tribute to his memory 
adopted by the Board. No account of his life and 
labors can here be given, nor any traits of his char- 
acter — unless in a single instance. As a father, no 
one could be more affectionate in his attachment to 
all his children, and yet his consent was freely given, 
at an inexpressible sacrifice, to three of his sons go- 
ing as missionaries. When he was first consulted, 
indeed, as to the question of personal duty by one of 
them, he was not clear as to encouraging the forming 
purpose ; but, after careful reflection, he not only 



REV. WILLIAM ADAMS, D.D. 417 

gave his consent, but also gave his full sympathy 
and warm benediction to his son's going to India. 

It was in the days when missionaries seldom re- 
turned to their native country, and he and his son 
parted on the deck of the ship, it was supposed, not 
likely to meet again in this world. How strange the 
ordering of Providence which a few years later placed 
them both, of course unsought by either, in ad- 
joining offices in the Mission House, where for thirty 
years they were engaged in the same work ! 

Refraining from further personal remarks concern- 
ing these three men, one thing of general and prac- 
tical interest may be stated — that their own deep 
interest in the missionary cause was in a large degree 
sustained, and their usefulness as executive counsellors 
was greatly promoted, by their regular, punctual at- 
tendance at the meetings of the Board, and by their 
keeping in mind the run of its affairs. 



LXXXV. 

REV. WILLIAM ADAMS, D.D. 

A GOOD and great man was called to the heavenly 
rest when the Rev. William Adams, D.D., departed 
this life, August 31, 1 880, in the seventy-fourth year 
of his age. The Board of Foreign Missions, of whom 
he was President, adopted a Minute, referring to his 
eminent worth and the great loss which the Church 
18* 



418 MISSIONARY PAPERS. 

has sustained in his death. We add here a little 
tribute to his memory from another pen. 

Dr. Adams had long occupied a distinguished place 
as the minister of the Madison Square church of New- 
York, as a director of some of our religious and be- 
nevolent institutions, and of late years as president 
of the Union Theological Seminary. He was always 
a warm friend and supporter of the cause of Foreign 
Missions, a member of the Board since the time of 
Reunion, and for several years its president, succeed- 
ing the late Mr. James Lenox. In these varied rela- 
tions to the Church, he was honored and loved by all 
who knew him for the gifts and grace of his personal 
character, and for the services he was enabled to render 
to the cause of Christ. He was held in great regard 
by the other members of the Board for his uniform 
courtesy and consideration, his prompt attention to 
every duty as presiding officer, often at no little in- 
convenience, above all, his deep concern for the cause 
entrusted to the Board by the Church. The sacred 
interests of this cause always lay near his heart. We 
do not wonder that the members of the Board deeply 
mourn over his departure, each one feeling his re- 
moval to be a personal loss, but grieving most for his 
no longer taking part with them in the counsels and 
action required by their charge. But they can rejoice 
for the grace from on high so evidently vouchsafed to 
their lamented friend. 

The writer of these lines may refer to an interview 
with Dr. Adams, at his instance, a few weeks before 
his death. He was then aware of the serious nature 



REV. WILLIAM ADAMS, D.D. 419 

of his illness ; but his conversation was so much in 
his usual manner, and touched in his pleasant way so 
many topics, that his friend could not but express the 
hope of his recovery. Not refusing assent, he yet 
said that he was freeing himself from engagements, 
and referred particularly to his having resigned the 
appointment to preach the sermon at the General 
Council in Philadelphia. He spoke of the verses in 
2 Peter i. 16-19, tne passage beginning, " For we 
have not followed cunningly devised fables," with 
such clearness and feeling as showed how much they 
were in his thoughts ; and indeed suggested the im- 
pression [since verified] that these verses may have 
been the theme of the sermon which so many thou- 
sands were hoping to hear or to read. Yet all was said 
as part of the conversation, which had turned for a 
few moments on skeptical tendencies ; and when it was 
suggested that the apostle evidently wrote from per- 
sonal experience, " Yes," said he, in reply, " but his 
experience was founded on the doctrines. The truth 
as revealed must precede the experience, or else we 
are all at sea." And then he cited the apostle's 
words concerning our Lord in these verses, and dwelt 
with emphasis on " the more sure word of proph- 
ecy." It was an interview not soon to be for- 
gotten. His views of our Saviour's grace and glory 
were admirably and touchingly expressed. How per- 
fect and blessed have they since become ! " Blessed 
are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth : 
Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their 
labors ; and their works do follow them." 



INDEX. 



Acts i. 8.... 55 

Adams, William, D.D 417 

Africa — inland 173 

A. D. 1832-1872 141 

Anglo-Saxon Race, unduly lauded.. 102 

Administrative work of missions. ... 213 
Alleghany Theological Seminary 

and Foreign Missions 328 

" Baptizo," transferring 139 

Boarding Schools ....198,203 

British Rule in India preferred 166 

Call of a missionary 25 

China, a Heathen Temple in 35 

Chinese in United States 176 

Schools for 182 

" Church " work in missions 95 

Congo, Protectorate of 175 

Creeds of mission churches. ...355, 356 
Conversion of the World, time re- 
quired 380 

Common school education of the 

Indians 189 

Commandments, the last two 11 

Children of missionaries 280 

Denominational missions 89 

Disinterestedness 51 

Distribution ormissionaries 270 

Debt, can a missionary board keep 

out of? 376 

Deputations, missionary 389 

Discipline of a small income 378 

Endorsement of objects 373 

Education of missionaries at Rome. 259 

At Basle ...... 260 

In our Seminaries 261 

Education of native missionaries. . . 

206, 209, 265 

Not in this country 209 

Not in Seminaries 269 

Personal 207 

Estimates, local funds 231 

Evangelists 361 

Family homes for children of mis- 
sionaries 308 

" Foreign Missions, their claims ". . 366 



Gifts, large 49 

Of the poor 50 

Of the rich 46 

Gifts and departure of friends 411 

Grace, not race 102 

Holy Ghost, the power of Christian 

witnesses 55 

Power of miracles and tongues.. . . 57 

Power of inward grace 58 

Power of grace in preaching the 

gospel 59 

Witnessing to Christ 61 

Witnessing to His truth. . 63 

Missionary witnessing, joyful, not 

narrow 70 

Witnessing at home and to all 

abroad 76 

The duty 79 

Elements of success 79 

What we most need 81 

Heathenism, impress of 28 

Heathen religion 149 

Heathen, not hopeless 30 

Heathen temple in China 35 

Hindus and British 162 



It is for Thee, my Saviour 

Indian affairs 

Peace policy of Washington and 
Jefferson 

Causes of trouble 

Guardian and Wards 

The question of land 

Reservations 

Indian soldiers 

Tribal disbanding 

Indians must be governed 

The Church's work for the In- 
dians, the main civilizing 
power 

Indian territory. 

Boarding schools 

Teacher 



10 

182 

183 

1S4 
186 



Jacobi, C. A 402 

Large and varied work 53 

Land for the Indians 187 

Law for the Indians 190 

(421) 



422 



INDEX. 



Length of missionary life 382 

Lenox, James 412, 414 

Lowrie, Walter 412, 416 

Martyn, Henry 397 

Matthew xiii. 31-33 18 

Millennarian views not accepted. . . 72 

" Mission," or Presbytery 392 

Missions— the beginning to the end. 7 

Administration of 213 

Board, its province 244 

Pecuniary support of 106 

Supervision of 233 

Missionary — life and piety 39 

Policy and zeal 13 

Call of a 25 

Great want of a 44 

Professorships . 262, 278, 324 

Superintendents 252 

Presbyteries and the Home Church 359 

Presbyteries .. 345 

Recall of a 389 

Missionaries, training and distribu- 
tion of 256 

Children of 280 

Who have died 320, 339 

Wives of 340 

Mohammedans 146, 149 

Monthly concert 99 

Mustard seed and leaven 18 

Native language indispensable. . . . 127 

Where to learn it 130 

Learning it unmarried 132 

Native ministers — Personal training 206 
Educated in their own country. . . 209 
In what schools 269 

Opium question in India 166 

Organized opposing forces 148 

Orphanages . . 203 

u Our country for the world " 109 

Offices of the Board 380 

Parsee Cemetery 171 

Presbyteries— Missionary 345 

Diverse opinions of 346 

And the Home Church 359 

Not independent at first 361 



Presbyteries — Of foreign and native 

members 350 

A Minute proposed to regulate 
their relations to the Home 

Church 352 

Presbyteries, what they can do 371 

Preachers and teachers, mere . ... 114 
Presbytery, its place in missionary 

supervision 237 

Protectorate of the Congo 175 

Phillips, William W., D.D 4 i 2 

Prayer and corresponding means. . 33 

Principles, fundamental 82 

Princeton Theological Seminary 

and Foreign Missions 310 

Proverbs xi. 24 87 

Races, less favored 104 

Review of forty years 141 

Romans xv. 20 84 

Roman Catholics 148, 150, 153, 157 

Church work for _ 150 

Romanist Missionary Society 153 

Romish missions to the heathen, a 

failure 157 

Remittances in gross 227 

How the plan worked 229 

Revel, J. P., D.D 408 

Scriptures, translating the 134 

Missionaries in the work of trans- 

. lating. 137 

Service for life 409 

" Slowing" the work of missions. .. 118 

Small beginnings, large growth 18 

Soul, worth of, in China and Amer- 
ica 31 

Superintendents, missionary 252 

Supervision of missions 233 

Training of missionaries 256 

Thirty meeting-houses 116 

The world for our country in 

Thoughts on missions 7 

Translating the Scriptures 134, T37 

Witnesses unto Christ 55 

Xavier, Francis 157 



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